Sealant around UPVC windows

[Psyclist]

I had a chap out to fix a couple of the hinges on our UPVC windows as they weren't closing properly and were letting a huge draught into the house, and when he came out he asked me if I wanted him to fix the sealant around our windows too as he had done a few of the houses in the estate and pretty much all of them had the same problem and I confirmed his recommendations when I was putting our xmas lights up and found there is about a 1cm gap along the top of all of our windows where the sealant has retracted. I told him we didn't have the cash at the time and that we'd get back to him if we wanted him to do it as it's probably something I can do myself, but I just wanted to check. Am I right in thinking all that I need to do is cut the old sealant out, fill the gap with expanding foam, and then re-apply a new bead of sealant around the window to remedy or is there anything else I should be considering?

Cheers all!

 

[Gazman16]

That all sound fine, Just also make sure that surfaces to be sealed are clean (free from dust and grease) this is probably why the sealant is coming away in the 1st place.

Assuming they are PVC or Ali windows a good wipe with some pvc solvent cleaner on a rag first would be good. You can get some from diy stores or ebay for about £5

 

[Psyclist]

Is that just a standard spirit wipe like a pre-paint prep? I've got a 5ltr can of that stuff if that's any good.

 

[Gazman16]

To be honest Im not sure. Some chemicals can damage the surface of PVC and Ali so I would recommend the solvent cleaner.

 

[s60tsy]

my dad used to use acetone (only on white)

 

[Psyclist]

I'll just do a patch test on a window somewhere and see if it's ok.

The pre-paint wipe I've got is supposed to be universal for cleaning surfaces without leaving any residue so I'll just give that a go and see how I get on.

Cheers for all your help people!