I suspect I'm not the only one who has noticed the difference in price
between silicon at the homecenter and boat stores. Is there any
difference? Experiences good or bad with using household silicon
products?

There are differences in silicone (BTW, note spelling -- silicon is an
element, silicone is a multi-use compound family). Some contain
mildew killers, some do not. Some are easier to paint. Read the label
carefully.

I don't use silicone for mission critical applications (gluing acrylic
in hatches for example) but for general sealing and bedding, the good
GE stuff from Home Depot does fine. We bedded all of Swee****er's deck
hardware in it and went around the world with no trouble.

For the mission critical stuff, use 5200, SikaFlex, or one of their
cousins. That, too, is available from Home Depot if you read labels
carefully.

And, of course, paint, varnish, cleaners, and all the other expensive
boat goops and gopps can be had at Home Depot in different brands if
you read labels carefully. Exceptions would be two part urethane
paints -- go to your auto parts store for them.

Jim Woodward
www.mvFintry.com

(Barry Minchey) wrote in message ...
I suspect I'm not the only one who has noticed the difference in price
between silicon at the homecenter and boat stores. Is there any
difference? Experiences good or bad with using household silicon
products?