DIYbanter - View Single Post - Advice on brand of caulk? Mine has failed twice.

RicodJour

wrote:
I am in the process of re-doing two bathrooms. I needed to quickly get
at least one shower working so I installed an acrylic tub and a tub
surround. I caulked the thing once using ployseamseal tub & tile
caulk, but it failed. I figured I hadn't given the caulk enough time
to cure, so I took everything apart, cleand everything with bleach and
alcohol. Then I put it all back together, re-caluked, let cure for 48
hours, and it's failing again. There is six people in my family so I
am now thinking that that many showers in the morning is killing the
caulk job. Any recommendations on better brands of caulk?

I'm not a big fan of Polyseamseal, particularly in wet areas. Silicone
caulk is my preferred beast at the tub/tile joint and for tub
surrounds. I do use latex caulk when I need color-matched caulk, but
in my experience Polyseamseal hardens over time and loses its
elasticity (it fails). BobK doesn't seem to have had the same
expereinces with it.

Latex caulk is easier to apply (a bit), easier to clean up, and is
affected more by water during its curing period. Some people use too
much water when smoothing latex caulk during application. It's also
possible that you have too deep of a caulk joint. The caulk should be
designed to move in one direction only, and there should be backing rod
and/or bond breaker tape used to control depth and adhesion to the
correct surfaces.

If you want the most tenacious caulk and can settle for a more limited
palette of colors, polyurethane would be a good choice - anything by 3M
or Sikaflex.

R