In a 15 second "This Old House" tip, they said don't cut too much off the tip of a caulking tube and get too big a bead, or it will be hard to work with.
And then they showed the guy pulling the tube backwards away from the tip as he applied the caulk. People here, and I agree, said to push the tube forward. The guy I bought my house from didn't seem to know that and left a mess everywhere he caulked.
Does anyone pull the tube back?
I do
I thought everyone did. I've never seen anyone push it.
You pull it or it turns into a mess.
"mm" wrote
Yes.
So do I, and this is a (fairly rare) case where I've regretted following instructions. And I've watched a pro(after vinyl floor installation) pull it back.
Banty
the way I do it...and it's probably wrong... is lay a thinner bead than you think you'll need. Wipe your fingers on a wet rag leaving them as wet as possible and then PUSH the caulk into the joint with your finger, this creates a better seal. Remember caulk is water-based and is really easy to clean up with just plain water or a wipe off with a wet rag.
I've never met anyone who "pushed" the tub as they're laying a bead... I like to think of caulking as more a sculpting art that a chore.
And whatever you do, don't go up to the unsuspecting college girl working the paint counter at home depot and ask her "Where would I find black caulk?"
Those of us in the business know that pushing the tube, where possible, yields a better result, produces a better seal with less waste. This method drives the goop further into the crack which is good. However it does take practice to do this successfully.
I pull. And, I use masking tape on both sides of the joint.
mm wrote:
A helpful associate at Lowe's taught how to create a *clean* bead: Instead of using the laborious masking tape, wet your index finger with Windex and run it across the seam (without forcing Windex into the seam; i.e., don't spray). Now run the bead and follow by wiping with a wet (not soaking wet) cloth. You will impressed with how clean the caulked seam looks. I was.
I think you've opened the big one. Like Ann Landers, and the question if the toilet paper comes off the top of the roll, or from behind.
I've done both, but not very good at either.
Why Windex? Are you using silicone or latex caulk? I used "siliconized latex" for my master bath. I used the wet finger approach.
I used a damp (fully wrung out) sponge. Worked like a champ!
Water based? Is that so? Not the urethane I prefer.
Bob
I asked about this a year or two ago, and iirc, I got 2, 3, or 4 people who said they pushed it, and no one who said they pulled.**
I push because the tip of the tube makes a nice concave line (I guess one wouldn't call it a bead since it is concave.) and the part on the outside is (usually?) easy to get rid of after it dries.
I caulked only rarely before I bought a house, this house, but that was my habit. It was confirmed when I saw the swirlies that the first owner of this house put in all his caulk. And he caulked everywhere because he was from Louisiana and he was cold here in Maryland. His caulking looked like waves splashing on the shore. I can just imagine little surfers one each one to two millimeter crest.
Wow, at least Craven doesn't think I'm crazy.
**I don't have time to hunt in google now, but I thought that is what happened.
Chuckle. The caulking the previous owner did here resembles that remark. Took me an hour to cut away the old caulking to switch out a failed storm window. The dumbass didn't realize he was creating a collection point that contributed to the mold problem he was trying to solve. (what's a weep hole?)
aem sends...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Windex is needed for caulking around tiles, bathtubs, vinyl floors, and the likes; else using a water-wet finger followed by a damp cloth wipe will smear the surface "like mad." Not a pretty sight! Windex-base caulking, when wiped by a damp cloth, will give the cleanest bead you've ever seen. The idea is that caulking does not stick to a surface covered by Windex. Try it. You will be impressed.
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It worked fine, but I will try the Windex next time. I wish you'd told me sooner. There was a bottle on the edge of the tub when I was doing the work.
I'm a painting contractor, I go through about 10 tubes of caulking every month for the last 20 years, I cut a small end off, about 1/16th" hole, on a slight angle, probably 30 degrees, and pull the gun towards me on about that
30 degree angle, wipe off with finger, done.
I'll try that too, and everything else people said. I'll admit that I did the bathtub a week ago and havent' gone back to remove the edge parts yet.
But more important than that, I got my motorcycle running 10 minutes ago (3:30PM here), the first time since 1972. It's pretty loud!
And I had thought up until now that I would go riding, as best I know how, immediately after it started, but the throttle doesn't spring back quickly enough. And it will be dark in an hour and a half.
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