FlexSeal: Should You Buy This As Seen On T.V Product?

We have all seen these Flex Seal ads on television. When I saw it I thought this stuff might be a good idea. I have been plagued with a leaky compression fitting underneath my bathroom sink. Since it is hard for me to try and fit my body in there to get the fitting out and replace it I figured I would try Flex Seal. My thought was I would spray this liquid rubber on the joint and the rubber would seal the leak. Well....here is what happened.

There is an As Seen On T.V. store at the mall which is a few minutes from my house. I decided to head on over and get a can which costs $20.00. When I got to the store there was a few cans on the counter. I asked the clerk if this stuff worked and he said yes. I told him that I read the independent reviews on the web. He asked me what did they say and I told him they were favorable. I asked the clerk if he ever used it and he said no because he doesn't have any leaking problems at home. This whole conversation should have sent up a red flag but because I was hoping this product would work I turned a blind eye.

When I got home my girlfriend followed me to the bathroom to give this stuff a try. We shook the can for about three minutes and I lowered myself under the sink to spray this liquid rubber on my pipe. My girlfriend watched with a skeptical look on her face but chose not to say anything. Well it was all down hill from there.

I tried to use a cardboard backing to keep the spray from getting all over the back of the sink. Man....this stuff flies everywhere! It will leave black tar all over everything. The moment I saw this happen I realized I am going to need some Glycol ether from my warehouse to remove this stuff. I tried to spray some on the joint and work it around the joint with my finger to get it in the grooves. My fingers were pitch black afterwards. So now the flex seal was on the pipe and dripping on to the towels I laid out.

The flex seal did not dry quickly at all and there is no directions on the can as to how long the dry time should be. The can does say use in an environment of 60 degrees for best results. I let it dry for about an hour.

Results: When I checked my pipe the next morning and turned on the water guess what happened? Water leaking out of the joint as if I had done nothing at all. So It took me about two hours to get the compression joint off and re-Teflon the threads and this stopped the leak! I could have saved myself twenty bucks. As a side note I tried the Magic tape as well and that doesn't work either!

I told my brother about my ordeal who happens to be one of the service reps at our company. He works on industrial dish machines and comes across leaking pipes and joints all the time. He said he would like to try it in the field on the machines. I told him this stuff will spray black all over everything and the manager or chef in the kitchen will be unhappy. Needless to say he laughed in my face and called me a dumb ass and said Flex Seal is only for flat surfaces.

Would I reccomend this stuff.....NO!