I am interested in the various methods people use to seal the kitchen faucet to the sink deck. I have never been completely satisfied with any of the techniques I have used.
The last faucet I installed was a Delta that came with a thin plastic seal gasket that had a small groove in its perimeter to accept the faucet escutcheon shell. I installed it without sealant and 6 months later, it is leaking. This faucet had an enormous cavity under the shell and filling it with plumbers putty seemed wasteful. The shell is very thin metal with only a knife edge to seal against the gasket, so putting sealant under that edge seemed useless. The gasket has no backing under the shell so nothing to give a broad pressure band to the sink deck.
Plumbers putty seems inappropriate for these modern faucets.
Silicon will not stick to itself and so will not seal properly if not not cleaned off entirely which is difficult to do. Silicone also leaves a smearing film mess that only shows up weeks later.
Is there something other than silicone that can be used?
What is your method?
The last faucet I installed was a Delta that came with a thin plastic seal gasket that had a small groove in its perimeter to accept the faucet escutcheon shell. I installed it without sealant and 6 months later, it is leaking. This faucet had an enormous cavity under the shell and filling it with plumbers putty seemed wasteful. The shell is very thin metal with only a knife edge to seal against the gasket, so putting sealant under that edge seemed useless. The gasket has no backing under the shell so nothing to give a broad pressure band to the sink deck.
Plumbers putty seems inappropriate for these modern faucets.
Silicon will not stick to itself and so will not seal properly if not not cleaned off entirely which is difficult to do. Silicone also leaves a smearing film mess that only shows up weeks later.
Is there something other than silicone that can be used?
What is your method?
