"Greg G" wrote in message
...
I've been a homeowner for six years. In my short tenure as the lord
and second-in-command of my modest castle I have learned many skills.
I have bent EMT, sweated pipe, unclogged drains, put in kitchen
cabinets, run BX, telephone and CAT5 lines through my walls, made
plaster repairs, drilled through a foot of brick, installed AC
circuits and built a couple of simple custom woodworking projects. And
then some.

But...

I can't seem to get the hang of one seemingly simple skill: Caulking.
I see guys do it, a nice even bead, smoothed with a finger, beautiful.
When I do it it looks like some sort of kindergarten craft project
gone awry. I'm probably a little bit more inept with silicone than
with latex, but it's a subtle difference.

I used to think I was just using too much, which was true, but I still
make a lousy looking job of it with less. It WORKS, mind you, but
looks bad.

Tips?

Greg Guarino

Well, I'm with you. Most times it looks bad. The only tip that I have ever
had was from a friend that is a glazer. He always pushes the tube instead of
pulling it and moves it at a constant rate depending on how big he cut the
tip. As soon as you stop you push the button on the back then wipe the tip
before you start again. His come out perfect and need very little tooling, I
think it's a practice thing. The rate that you move it seems the most
important.

CR