Prep/Re-caulk bathtub

'allo,

Apologies for the FAQ: what little I knew of proper surface-prep
/caulking I likely forgot years ago.

I think I've got a pretty much standard tiled bath/shower
such as was commonly installed in the midwest in the 50's.

Tub was caulked maybe 15 years ago. There is black stuff,
presumably mildew, *under* the caulk. Spraying with anti-
mildew cleaners has no effect. I'm thinking the surface-
prep was insufficient, wish to avoid such when I re-caulk.

I've been looking at:


http://www.gesealants.com/sealants/d...ulktands.shtml

just to get an idea of what I'm up against. :-)

What might I need to do to get a proper prep/re-caulk job
done on a bathtub? What is caulk remover? Are the steps
on the GE site a good outline of what needs be done?

TIA,
Puddin'

************************************************** ****
*** Puddin' Man PuddingDotMan at GmailDotCom ***
************************************************** ****;

The GE web site is interesting. I have scraped out a lot of caulk but I
have never even heard of caulk remover. If you find any please post to this
board...sure would love to have some.

What I did was take a razor blade and putty knife and scrape out what I
could - cut out what I couldn't scrape - cleaned with alcohol when I
finished. This was silicon caulk. The older kind is a little different but
think you do it the same way. Be sure to clean with Clorox when you finish.






"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
...
Prep/Re-caulk bathtub

'allo,

Apologies for the FAQ: what little I knew of proper surface-prep
/caulking I likely forgot years ago.

I think I've got a pretty much standard tiled bath/shower
such as was commonly installed in the midwest in the 50's.

Tub was caulked maybe 15 years ago. There is black stuff,
presumably mildew, *under* the caulk. Spraying with anti-
mildew cleaners has no effect. I'm thinking the surface-
prep was insufficient, wish to avoid such when I re-caulk.

I've been looking at:



http://www.gesealants.com/sealants/d...recaulktands.s
html

just to get an idea of what I'm up against. :-)

What might I need to do to get a proper prep/re-caulk job
done on a bathtub? What is caulk remover? Are the steps
on the GE site a good outline of what needs be done?

TIA,
Puddin'

************************************************** ****
*** Puddin' Man PuddingDotMan at GmailDotCom ***
************************************************** ****;

I've been looking at:


http://www.gesealants.com/sealants/d...ulktands.shtml

just to get an idea of what I'm up against. :-)

Allow me to insert the following step:

6.5 - Observe that your new caulk application looks like hell. You had a
hard time getting an even bead on and now in your attempt to "smooth" it
with a wet finger it's smeared all over the tub.

6.6 - jump to step 2. Repeat steps several times until you finally get it
to where it doesn't look like a pigeon took a dump on your bathtub.

Use masking tape to prevent overcaulking