sealing a utility worktop

Well it is quite a dull question I know:)

https://www.uksealants.co.uk/evt-prime-colour-silicone-ral-coloured-silicones.html

All the colours.

Are you putting any sort of splash back up? A line of tiles/glass/steel etc. could hide the silicon.

Depends on the wall colour - try to match it?

see this is the challenge, wifey hasn't decided on wall colours or tiles but wants it up and running

I have a lot of jobs so decorating won't be for a couple of months

that's why I'm thinking matching to the worktop if possible and then if we don't tile it'll be better than white

worktop has walls either end so it's 3 sides to seal

I wouldn't have thought you'd want to put silicone where later you'll paint.

so caulk the gap. paint and or tile and then a clear silcone after decorating?

there is a sink and it's laminate so I definitely want a water tight seal to avoid the risk of it blowing

If the gaps are 2-3mm can you silicone seal so that it is flush with the worktop? That way it seals the exposed worktop edges but doesn't have any vertical height like a normal bead would. Being silicone means it also has a bit of flexibility in it for movement of walls/worktop whereas caulk would just crack and isn't actually going to seal anything.

EDIT: Doesn't answer your colour question. I'd go for tan or clear. And if you decide not to tile you could add a small oak quadrant trim bead around the edges to hide the gap/colour difference.

How proficient are you at cutting this worktop ?. As you can scribe it exactly for a tight fit, without any gaps needing to be filled.

It’s cut, I deliberately gave myself 2mm tolerance to ensure it fitted in the space, as it had to be lifted in at an angle in a tight space, I could push it back flush on the rear wall but I’d read you need minimum 2mm gap to have enough gap for sealant. Even if the worktop is flush water will still penetrate.

Maybe flush clear silicone is the answer. Can you see why I can’t make my mind up!

Still haven’t sealed the main kitchen yet either because it needs tiling and that was fitted in November….

Liking the oak bead idea if we don’t tile. Good fallback

Just stick an upstand on it. Then make sure it's all good and sealed where the upstand meets the worktop. Then drop some clear, or coloured silicone behind the top of your upstand where it meets the wall to fill any gaps.

You say light oak coloured, is it real wood or laminate, not that it makes much difference.

You can then paint or tile above the upstand once you've worked out what to do. Which if you're like me will mean leaving it as is for many years 😄

wifey hasn’t decided on wall colours or tiles

Paint it white, bead of sillicone, then a single row of tiles. In a week you won't see it as it'll all be covered in cleaning products, washing baskets and odd socks anyway!

Paint it white, bead of sillicone, then a single row of tiles. In a week you won’t see it as it’ll all be covered in cleaning products, washing baskets and odd socks anyway!

This - I have given up tidying our utility - 5 minutes later it is always a mess.

If you are going to paint then don’t use silicone. The paint won’t adhere and no matter how careful you’ll get some residue on the wall.

Personally i'd do a bead of silicon flush with the worktop, then if you tile, once done, run a second thin bead along to completely seal

I'm going to offer the alternative opinion that I always feel that the uniform colour of tan / light brown silicon stands out too much from the texture of wood or wood effect and clear shows up blemishes more.
If white is out go with the current decorating zeitgeist ( and weather) and use grey silicone. It stands out less for me.