mobilehomerepair.com

We have one window that leaks like a sieve when rain comes from a certain direction. It either had no caulk to begin with or it all disappeared over the years. We are finally supposed to get some substantial rain over the weekend (hooRAY, although I know those of you down South don't want to see any more drops for a while) so I decided to caulk the window. Luckily it's small and we keep a blind drawn over it most of the time because I did a less-than-lovely looking job. Functional yes, but gonna win no ribbons for beauty.

As we have other caulking projects that WILL be exposed, does anyone have some great tips to help?

put down painter's tape on both sides of area to be caulked. after applying caulk run wet finger lightly over caulk then pull up painter's tape where excess caulk ran over and you have a professional looking caulk job. Make sure area to be caulked is clean & dry.

Lowes has a caulk tool, it looks like a triangular rubber squeege that smoots the bead after you put it down. Greg

Hello everybody, Hey Troyster, It also depends on the type of caulk that is used. A pure 100% silicone caulk is very difficult to work with and does not work well with painters tape in my opinion. YOUR best bet is acrilyic latex and is in the middle of the price range for caulk.

Joe

Learning how to caulk is a bit of an art. Last weekend I was visiting someone who did all their own home repair. Most was pretty good, but I certainly cringed at his caulking.

First tip in caulking is to not put down too big of a bead. Lay the best bead that you can do, then lick the tip of your index finger. Run your finger along the bead gently pressing it into place. Wipe off any excess caulk from your hand with a rag. Then lick and do the next bead.

Mark

Hi,

Mark does it like I do...but another thing is only cut a small tip and cut on an angle....

Yanita

PS, I don't llick the caulk like Mark says he does, think he missed a word in there somewhere, HAHAHAHAHAHA

Maybe this weekend I'll make a quick video of how I do caulking. I'll post it to the new video section we are working on: http://www.mobilehomerepair.com/how-to-videos.php.

Yep, I lick my fingers after each smooth. Maybe a small glass of water nearby can be used instead -- but there's something about saliva that makes the bead come out great! I think all the great caulkers 'lick'.

Mark

LOL! I have to agree with Yanita, I do it the same way, but licking the fingers is a guy thing! I use a wet paper towel to wet my finger with... same effect, but I'm not tasting caulk for the next day or two.

The real key to caulking is what Yanita mentioned, cutting the tip at the precise size tip. Once you master that, you're in business! Now, different jobs take more or less caulk. Each takes a different size bead. It's one of those learned experiences! The more you do, the better you get.

Maureen

I find that most people pull the caulking gun to apply it. I was shown to push it instead. It takes some practice but if you cut the tip right it lays down nicely and then the "licked finger" trick gives it the finishing touch.

Jim

Hey Jim -- that's what happens when you post so late at night!! I was doing some updates to the forum. The updates didn't work, so I put back the original files. So basically I stayed up til 4am for nothing, and you had to retype your reply!

Mark

All are wonderful ideas, none of which I did! (That'll teach me to go ahead full bore before checking here first!)

Thanks for the help!

Mark - I love the new section with "how-to" videos! But on my machine the audio plays twice like an echo. Do I need to set something differently on my machine or is it a system glitch?

Thanks again

Lynnie C.

The finger lick , I would have said that too but I thought people would get grossed out if I said it. We used to do that when we put new panels on aircraft. probably not to healthy but licking fingers does seem to work better then water . I have also used those surgical gloves on hand . Just have to keep them moist.

A guy thing????

Hi Everyone,

Yup, spending time today locking things up...looks like this one has been answered as well.

Yanita