On 23/08/2019 12:44, Becky wrote:
replying to Steve Firth, Becky wrote:
Please help me without making me feel more stupid than I already do. In
prepping my wood stair treads for paint, I used paintable wood filler. But
when I went back to sand, I saw that many places were still deeply
gouged. So
(gulp) I made a classic beginner's mistake: I realize now I screwed up by
skimming paintable caulk over these areas.

Here we are two days later and my stair treads are still tacky to the
touch in
places. To make it even more horrifying, I am reading that caulk can't be
sanded. I applied it/skimmed it pretty smooth but planned to sand it to
perfection.

Now I read caulk not only can't be sanded, it shrinks over time. So
basically
my stair treads will look like sh** by next month. If the caulk even ever
dries.

Is there any hope left? Please be gentle in your responses. I feel very
stupid.

Some types of caulk are sold as sandable, but even they don't sand very
well. I think you need to scrape it off and do it again with filler or
something.

Bill