One small addition to the foregoing from a chemist: there are several types of silicone and they don't all cure the same. I won't get into the chemistry, but common hardware-store RTV cures by exhuding acetic anhydride, which instantly reacts with atmospheric moisture to form acetic acid and gives off the familiar vinegar odor. This type should NOT be used against bare metal, as the acid will begin corroding steel and you'll get the equivalent of "rust" . If your RTV smells like vinegar, do NOT use it on windshields!
In the last half of the 20th century, professional auto glass people specified a type of RTV that cures by exhuding acet-aldehyde which is a light gas that vanishes without further reacting. It has NO odor while curing. THIS is the type of RTV commonly used on windshields at pro glass shops, and is available in tubes at windshield shops everywhere. But not at Home Depot for caulking guns! I have seen non-leaking Panteras with windshield channels so corroded by the wrong silicone, they were no longer structurally sound!