How to Remove and Apply Caulks and Sealants Smoothly
Important Note About the Product Demonstrated in the Video: The caulk smoothing product, Bead Tamer, shown in this project has been re-branded and is now available under the name Caulk Smoother.
For my money, the best way to remove old caulk is by cutting it away with a sharp utility knife. You'll want to make two cuts — one, horizontal and one, vertical. This way you can simply lift out much of the old material in a single piece.Next, use a razor blade-style scraper to remove any portion of the old bead still clinging to the surface. This foam sealant remover does a great job of loosening anything that's still left. Just brush it on and wait a few minutes. It works by actually breaking down the bond between the caulk and the surface below. For a final cleaning, a non-metallic abrasive pad like this, does a good job — followed by a wipe with a clean cloth or a paper towel.
Pour some household bleach into a plastic or glass container and brush it into the joint to kill any lingering mildew or mold spores. Let the surface dry thoroughly. Well, we've done a good job of getting the old caulk out and cleaning and preparing the surface. Now it's time to put the new caulk in. Now there are four important steps to getting a professional job. Step one, use the right material.Silicone is my choice for most kitchen and bathroom jobs. This one contains a mold and mildew inhibitor. Cut the tape or tip of the cartridge, just large enough to fill the joint. Using a sharp utility knife, slice on an angle along one of the premarked lines. Many caulking guns have a built-in piercing tool for puncturing the seal at the base of the nozzle. Or you might just try this nifty tip cutter. It adjusts to three different bead sizes. Just slip it over the end of the nozzle and press. The piercing tool folds out from the side of the case. Place the tip of the nozzle into the corner and squeeze the trigger slowly and evenly. Pull the caulking gun toward you and lay down a uniform bead, just large enough to fill the joint.
Now the fourth and final step to getting a really professional caulking joint is a process called tooling. What you do is take your finger or a tool like this and draw it along the caulking bead. Now, you can see I was really careful putting this in, but there are some spots here where it kind of got caught up on the tile joint, little bumps. The idea here is to smooth that all out. But before you start either with your finger or the tool, spray on some of this. This one-of-a-kind product is called Bead Tamer. It's sprayed on the joint before tooling and lubricates the surface of the silicone, allowing your finger to glide along evenly, leaving behind a perfectly smooth joint.The solution also keeps excess caulk from sticking to surrounding surfaces as well as your skin. This smoothing tool, used in combination with Bead Tamer also works well and produces a slightly narrower bead than your finger.
Now you have to admit, when it comes to a caulking joint, well, they just don't get much better looking than that.
24Comments
Lowell Hardwick
Feb 4, at 8:10am
Amazon.com
Momentive Performance M90001 Caulk Smoother
$4.08 + $5.60 shipping
Do you know anyone else that sells this product?
I don’t like paying more for shipping, than the cost of product…
Love your show.
God Bless.
Rich
Richard Brochu
Jan 26, at 10:10am
I liked your video and will be using all your techniques. The caulk smoothing product, Caulk Smoother. Sounds great I will try it the next time. Also fillint the tub with water is a gool idea.
I second the motion about having a “print freindly” edition available of you ideas and plans. Printed copies can be down loaded asneeded taken to the job and used to make sure you are doing it correctly.
Sue Nicholson
Jan 16, at 7:48pm
I used cooking soybean oil to protect my finger from the sticky slime from silicone adhesive sealant. And use extra fast food napkins. Keep the money in your pocket.
Keri
Jan 16, at 4:03pm
Great tips on the caulking job… another great product I found at Lowe’s is the covers called “Caulkkeeper” , these work great after you open that tube of caulking, these are made by Homax, sure keeps the cartridge material from drying out.. only $2.00 for pkg. of 2.. beats loosing a $7.00 tube of caulking.. could not find this product at Home Depot….
Jim Palmer
Jan 16, at 3:25pm
Thanks again, Ron for a great tip. Just couple of points though, I was always taught to push the gun away from me which pushes the caulk into the gap giving a much better bond. I also clean the surfaces with Methylated Spirit.
Best wishes
Mike
Mike Strawson
Jan 16, at 3:22am
I second the motion about having a “print freindly” edition available of you ideas and plans. Printed copies can be stored years or decade, until needed. I doubt this download will still be available.
Jack
Jan 15, at 10:38pm
I’m on my way to HomeDepot for the materials, hope I get good results with my project. Thanks.
Delois wynne
Jan 15, at 9:46pm
Ron, Thanks for the information about caulking around a tub or sink. My only question is did you buy the supplys at Homedepot???? I also like the video of you working with the kids. You need to do more of this in your show and in your e-mail newsletters. Kids today need to know more about doing small projects around the home. It will help them latter own in life. This is one thing most TV shows on home inprovement don’t do.
Keep up the good work.
Ronnie Hogan
Jan 15, at 6:04pm
I WISH YOU WOULD HAVE A “PRINT FRIENDLY” CATAGORY FOR PRINTING YOUR TIPS.
DICK
Jan 15, at 3:12pm
Thanks Ron! Caulking is one of my least favorite jobs. I agree with Steve above though. If you could have your tech folks let us save and archive your videos it would be a huge asset when the time comes to tackle a multitude of the DYI projects that you have featured.
Thanks again!!
John
Jan 15, at 2:49pm
Nice video. I don’t suppose you’d consider using a video creator that would enable downloading by the likes of realplayer so as to be able to keep the videos for future reference?? Often just saving links doesn’t work if you try to reference them in the future.
steve
Jan 15, at 1:19pm
Can’t wait to try some Bead Tamer. I have several windows that need caulking and I have never been able to get a good looking bead. Excited!!!!
John Myers
Jan 15, at 10:43am
I learned a thing or two from an aerospace part we produced for Rolls Royce (engine) years ago. They insisted that we use tape to set the width of a seal, and have used that technique on my bathrooms ever since. While it does take about an extra 30 minutes to pre-tape all the seams at 1/8 or 1/4” seal width, the finish project looks better than professional. Try it and see (Ron).
Riichard
Jan 15, at 9:24am
As always a very helpful suggestion to get the caulking job done correctly.
Thanks,
Sandra K. Piwowarczyk
Jan 15, at 9:16am
Silicone caulking can be done easier and neater by blue taping off a perimeter top and bottom where you don’t want the caulking to accidentally be spread to. After digging out the old caulk as described above, I put a line of tape about 1/8th of an inch from the area to be caulked and start the process of caulking. I give it the smoothing touch by wetting a finger and running it along the fresh caulk, wiping excess off my finger frequently.
When I am done, I pull the tape off and the job is precise, neat and there’s no caulk where you don’t want it to be.
While the process of taping is time consuming, the results are great.
Jackie
Jan 15, at 9:06am
Thank you for this information. Very helpful. I have never been able to get a really nice looking caulking job. Can’t wait to try this. Thanks.
Betsy Davis
Jan 15, at 8:07am
I’ve found that running masking tape on either side of the area to be caulked creates a perfect barrier/crisp line when smoothing the caulk with your finger.
A comment about spraying bleach - lots of pretty tough objects can be damaged by bleach, including formica countertops. I suspect that the modern stone countertops don’t do well with bleach either. I’d seriously consider dropping this step.
Mike
Jan 15, at 8:01am
I liked your video and will be using all your techniques. Thank you! Ron.
BTW- i need to do a calk job in the corner wall in my bedroom. The room has not been painted in years and looks desperate…Its plaster walls, do I do it the same way? ...I’ll have to look up all your painting preparation videos. Love ya!
Maria
Jan 15, at 2:38am
I like this one for I found some things I can do better.
Thanks Ron for the good tip!!!
Ernie
Jan 15, at 2:19am
I like the video. It helped a lot.
I was wondering if Silicone Caulk that was placed a week ago be continued (butted) with additional Silicone caulk? Or, does all have to be removed and start over?
Leonard E. Brown
Dec 21, at 12:58pm
i thought bleach doesn’t kill mold / mold spores?
Tuyen
Dec 7, at 1:01pm
When caulking the joint between a bathtub and the surrounding wall, the natural tendency is to have the tub empty and dry. Caulk applied in this condition may form a fine bead, and look impressive; but a full tub of water—with you in it—will weigh several hundred pounds and will tend to pull the tub down and away from the wall/caulk joint.
FILL the tub before applying the caulk, and let the caulk set up completely before draining the tub. This way, the caulk job will have a much better chance of lasting and not pulling loose.
Irv Bouton
Sep 25, at 11:17am
Opportune time for this video - bathtub caulking is a job I need to do in my place!
Bob Marconi
Sep 18, at 1:27pm
Why buy the Bead Tamer when a spray bottle with 1/2 water and 1/2 Denatured alcohol works great.