I need to caulk a good bit of exterior trim prior to painting. What is the
best caulk for this purpose. Wood to wood. How good is the regular cheapo
painters caulk? I want something that is going to last.

Steve

On Sun, 23 Dec 2012 13:37:32 -0700, "Steve B"
wrote:

I need to caulk a good bit of exterior trim prior to painting. What is the
best caulk for this purpose. Wood to wood. How good is the regular cheapo
painters caulk? I want something that is going to last.

Steve


I'd use acrylic latex caulk. It will flex, less likely to crack.

On Sun, 23 Dec 2012 13:37:32 -0700, "Steve B"
wrote:

I need to caulk a good bit of exterior trim prior to painting. What is the
best caulk for this purpose. Wood to wood. How good is the regular cheapo
painters caulk? I want something that is going to last.

Steve


OSI Quad is the best caulk I have used. I highly recommend it.

http://www.osipro.com/quad-color-cross-reference.pl

Oren wrote:

On Sun, 23 Dec 2012 13:37:32 -0700, "Steve B"
wrote:

I need to caulk a good bit of exterior trim prior to painting. What is
the
best caulk for this purpose. Wood to wood. How good is the regular
cheapo
painters caulk? I want something that is going to last.

Steve


I'd use acrylic latex caulk. It will flex, less likely to crack.

+1 for anything that says "acrylic".

--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://www.dionic.net/tim/

"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it."

Steve B wrote:
I need to caulk a good bit of exterior trim prior to painting. What
is the best caulk for this purpose. Wood to wood. How good is the
regular cheapo painters caulk? I want something that is going to
last.

By "regular cheapo painters caulk" I assume you mean acrylic latex caulk?
The stuff that was less than $1.00 a tube not so long ago but which is now
approaching $2.00?

If so, I've used a fair amount both inside and out. For example, I used it
to repair minor (up to 1/16") stucco cracks prior to painting. That was 16
years ago, still fine. I also used polyurethane caulk (with backer rod) to
repair a much wider and deeper area, a separation twixt a free standing CB
wall and the house. It was pricy and not easy to use but has done a good
job.

A professional that I hired to work on a house my wife inherited swears by a
caulk he refers to as "silicon". It isn't, cleans with paint thinner; it is
pricy, comes clear and maybe colors, can't tell you the name or btrand, HD
has it. It *is* good.

Back to regular cheapo painters caulk: a lot depends on what you are
caulking; i.e., size of finished bead. Generally, kept painted, it works
just fine. IMO, YMMV.


--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

On Sun, 23 Dec 2012 13:37:32 -0700, "Steve B" wrote:

I need to caulk a good bit of exterior trim prior to painting. What is the
best caulk for this purpose. Wood to wood. How good is the regular cheapo
painters caulk? I want something that is going to last.

Steve


Pure Silicone is the best caulk, but you can NOT paint it. The only
thing to do is paint first, and use clear silicone over it. Otherwise
use painters caulk, but I'd spend the extra couple bucks and get a good
brand. That $1 cheap **** dont last long. Some of the better brands
state a long warranty, like 25 or 40 years. I think they are
exaggerated, because no one will remember what caulk was used in 25 or
more years, so no warranty service will ever occur. But I do think that
that is a better caulk.

Several points:

1.
Almost certainly the caulk that professional was using was Stone Mason Gutter & Siding Sealant, which is now being produced and sold in the USA by the Henry/Bakor company:

Stone Mason® Gutter and Siding Sealant | Henry.com



And I agree with that professional that it's probably the best caulk out there.

Lemme tell ya the story:

Stone Mason Gutter & Siding Sealant is really Kop-R-Lastic (as seen here);



being sold under a different name.

The U. S. E. Hickson Company of Scarborough, Ontario, Canada bought the license to manufacturer and sell Kop-R-Lastic caulk in Canada from the Koppers Company of Australia.

U. S. E. Hickson then filled their tubes of white and clear Stone Mason Gutter & Siding Sealant with the same stuff they filled their tubes of white Kop-R-Lastic and clear Kop-R-Lastic with. Same stuff, different names on the tubes.

U. S. E. Hickson was bought out about 4 years ago by the Henry/Bakor company of the USA, and the Henry Company is now selling Stone Mason Gutter & Siding Sealant in the USA. I suspect it's exactly the same as what the USE Hickson company was making, and it's basically clear or white Kop-R-Lastic.

Home Depot sells Stone Mason Gutter & Siding Sealant, but it's not with all their other caulks. It's in the same area where you buy gutters and down spouts and other evestroughing supplies.

I won't use anything BUT Kop-R-Lastic (aka: Stone Mason Gutter & Siding Sealant) on the exterior of my building BECAUSE it's the only caulk I know that cures to a rubber who's cohesive strength is greater than it's adhesive strength. That means, it sticks to itself better than it sticks to common construction materials. And, that means that once it's fully cured (which takes a few years) if you ever want to remove the stuff, you just get one end started, and it pulls off like a rubber rope.

Here's a picture of me pulling the Kop-R-Lastic (aka: SMG&SS) off the window of Suite 3's dining room in my building:



The fact that the caulk is grey means it's been on a long time for dirt to have accumulated on it and stuck to it. The fact that the area where the caulk was pulled off of shows how cleanly the Kop-R-Lastic pulls off a surface. You can literally pull the old stuff off and put the new stuff on without doing any cleaning in between. Uncured Kop-R-Lastic can be cleaned up with mineral spirits, cured Kop-R-Lastic dissolves in acetone.

It's got more than enough strength to stay in place until you want to remove it, but if and when you want to remove it, it's phenomenally easy to remove because it pulls off in one piece. I prefer the clear caulk because the way they colour caulk is to add tiny solid coloured particles (called "pigments") to it. Adding that coloured powder lessens both the adhesion and strength of the caulk just a bit, so for my dollars, I'd prefer the caulk not have that coloured powder in it.

And, that makes for better home maintenance because the hardest part of maintaining caulking is removing the old caulk before applying the new caulk. Kop-R-Lastic (aka: SMG&SS) makes that part of the job a breeze, and that results in the home owner doing a better job of maintaining his caulk because he's not reluctant to tackle the job of recaulking. (but, Kop-R-Lastic/SMG&SS is a very long lasting caulk, so caulking isn't the kind of thing you'll be doing often)

And, it's paintable.

Kop-R-Lastic comes in 8 different colours, but most distributors will only stock clear, white, grey and brown. Stone Mason Gutter & Siding Sealant only comes in clear and white.


2.
Yes, silicone caulk is very durable in that it lasts darn near forever in outdoor applications, but it's careless to recommend it to newbies. That's because silicone caulk is a double-edge sword. It sticks to nearly everything and lasts longer than most other caulk, BUT it can be very hard to remove, and nothing else will stick to it.

So, if you caulk between a wood window frame and brick with silicone caulk, you can always scrape the silicone off the wood by scraping the wood down with a sharp paint scraper, but that silicone is going to be much harder to get off of the brick. And unless and until you do get that silicone off the brick, no other caulk will stick to that brick in that same area. And that can be a real headache. There are areas of my building where I used silicone caulk and I dread the thoughts of having to remove that caulk should I need to. Silicone caulk is hard enough to remove completely from enameled steel bathtubs and glazed ceramic wall tiles, and those are SMOOTH surfaces that you can get pretty clean with a razor. Getting silicone off a durable rough surface like brick takes a lot of patience, and the willingness to use muriatic acid to dissolve the surface of the brick.


3.
I've never tried OSI Quad, but Henkel is a major German chemical company, and they make good products. Loctite in North America is a subsidiary of the Henkel Company of Germany. However, to be truthful, having that OSI Quad caulk available in so many different colours is of little benefit to your average homeowner. That's because your local distributor is only going to stock clear, white, grey and maybe black or brown. He'll order any of the other colours in IF you'll purchase a case of 12 tubes. In most cases, homeowners aren't going to want to commit to buying 12 tubes when they only need 2 or 3 tubes at most. So even though all those other colours are available, they're really only available if you're ready to buy 12 tubes of the stuff. Otherwise, they're effectively not even made.
A more practical benefit to a homeowner is being able to remove the caulk quickly and easily if and when you want to.

On 12/23/2012 2:37 PM, Steve B wrote:
I need to caulk a good bit of exterior trim prior to painting. What is the
best caulk for this purpose. Wood to wood. How good is the regular cheapo
painters caulk? I want something that is going to last.

Steve




Do NOT use any kind of silicone with the noted exception of Dow Corning 795.
I wouldn't use any kind of latex.


Any of the polyurethanes are excellent: NP1, Vulkem, Tremco, etc

I have been using Titebond Metal Roof Sealant lately with very good
results. They call it a polymer, but it easy to work, easy to gun, and
has been phenomenal where used:
http://www.titebond.com/product.aspx...2-718c5298a55d


--


___________________________________

Keep the whole world singing . . .
Dan G
remove the seven

On Sunday, December 23, 2012 6:25:52 PM UTC-7, wrote:

I need to caulk a good bit of exterior trim prior to painting. What
is the best caulk for this purpose. Wood to wood. How good is the
regular cheapo painter's caulk? I want something that is going to last.

You probably want latex caulk. Most of it is now made with acrylic, but
some also says "siliconized", meaning it contains about 1% silicone oil.
OTOH silicone caulk is 100% silicone rubber and lasts forever but can't
be painted and is a lot harder to clean up than latex caulk, which needs
only water or maybe soap & water.

On Mon, 24 Dec 2012 03:35:00 -0600, DanG wrote:

Do NOT use any kind of silicone with the noted exception of Dow Corning 795.
I wouldn't use any kind of latex.

Why not use silicone? Yes, 100% silicone can not be painted, but what
about the siliconized caulk. That's good stuff.

Do you work for Dow Corning? Sure sounds like it. What is so good
about this 795 stuff?

I think the plain latex caulk is pretty crappy, but dont most caulks
contain at least some latex? Years ago, it was all latex, and it worked
but did not last long. That's the stuff you can usually buy for under
$2 per tube at most stores.

By the way, you can (sort of) paint pure silicone. I discovered this by
accident. Let the silicone dry and weather for several weeks or more
before trying this. Then spray paint it with common spray paint. Let
it dry, and apply another coat. Maybe a 3rd coat.... Then apply your
latex paint. It does cover 99% of the silicone. I found that the stuff
called "aluminum paint" (silver paint) works best. Dont ask me why, but
it does work, and the spots I did this way on my barn trim have held
their paint for 4 or 5 years. The 1% that dont cover is little spots.
Maybe if it weathered longer that would not happen?????


-----
Notice: Always keep your caulk in your pants when women are present.

On 12/24/2012 6:52 AM, wrote:
On Mon, 24 Dec 2012 03:35:00 -0600, DanG wrote:

Do NOT use any kind of silicone with the noted exception of Dow Corning 795.
I wouldn't use any kind of latex.

Why not use silicone? Yes, 100% silicone can not be painted, but what
about the siliconized caulk. That's good stuff.

Do you work for Dow Corning? Sure sounds like it. What is so good
about this 795 stuff?

I think the plain latex caulk is pretty crappy, but dont most caulks
contain at least some latex? Years ago, it was all latex, and it worked
but did not last long. That's the stuff you can usually buy for under
$2 per tube at most stores.

By the way, you can (sort of) paint pure silicone. I discovered this by
accident. Let the silicone dry and weather for several weeks or more
before trying this. Then spray paint it with common spray paint. Let
it dry, and apply another coat. Maybe a 3rd coat.... Then apply your
latex paint. It does cover 99% of the silicone. I found that the stuff
called "aluminum paint" (silver paint) works best. Dont ask me why, but
it does work, and the spots I did this way on my barn trim have held
their paint for 4 or 5 years. The 1% that dont cover is little spots.
Maybe if it weathered longer that would not happen?????


-----
Notice: Always keep your caulk in your pants when women are present.


No, I don't work for any manufacturer. I am a commercial contractor.
I am old and stuck in my ways - I've found things that work well and see
little or no reason to change unless shown at a trade show or tradesman.
One bad experience with a product or brand will guarantee that I will
NEVER buy it again.

Go to a real caulk store in your area, not the lumber yard or box store.
Go where professional caulking contractors buy their materials. See
what brands they carry, ask them for advice on how to take on whatever
it is you are doing. Here is one that I work with (no, I do not work for):
http://www.ssicm.com/constructionsealants.php

--


___________________________________

Keep the whole world singing . . .
Dan G
remove the seven

People should be aware that the terms "latex" and "acrylic" are most often interchangable.

The term "acrylic" is simply an adjective meaning that the product is made of a plastic called "polymethyl methacrylate", which is the same plastic that Plexiglas is made of.

Most top quality interior latex paints and just about all exterior latex paints are made with tiny hard particles (called "binder resins") of polymethyl methacrylate that would each be clear in colour if they were large enough to see individually. But, because they're hundreds of times smaller that the smallest thing that can be seen with the naked eye, we don't actually see those particles, only the light reflected and refracted by them. Consequently, when those binder resins are suspended in water, the solution looks milky white to our eyes because incident light is reflected and refracted at every plastic/water interface. That is, a suspension of acrylic binder resins in water is white for exactly the same reason that snow banks, clowds, steam and the head on a beer all appear to be white in colour even though nothing inside any of these things is actually white. Our eyes simply see all the different frequencies of light being scattered in different directions as the colour "white".

Since that white slurry of plastic binder resins reminded people of the white sap that was harvested from rubber trees to make rubber, they started referring to plastic binder resin suspensions by the word "latex", and water based paints made from that stuff were subsequently called "latex paints".

So, the word "latex" simply means there's tiny clear solid particles in the product that reflect and refract incident light in all different directions, and it gives the product an artificially white colour that disappears as it transforms into a solid.

And the word "acrylic" (when applied to anything that isn't a solid already) simply means that those tiny clear solid particles are made of polymethyl methacrylate (or the same plastic as Plexiglas).

Latex or acrylic caulks solidify by exactly the same process that latex/acrylic paints do.

When latex or acrylic paints or caulk solidify, all those clear plastic particles fuse together to become a solid (or in the case of latex paint, a solid "film").

As those plastic binder resins fuse together to become a solid, the plastic/water interfaces in the product disappear, and so the product produces less and less white light as it dries and the amount of reflection and refraction of incident light within the product diminishes. THIS is the reason why latex paints will darken significantly as they dry, and though I rarely use latex caulks, I expect they do much the same thing. That is, latex paints lose their whitish colour as they dry for exactly the same reason that snow loses it's white colour as it melts.

Acrylic caulks work well outdoors because polymethyl methacrylate is both fairly water resistant once it's transformed into a solid AND it's almost completely transparent to UV light from the Sun. So acrylic caulks are quite resistant to both moisture and UV light, making them suitable for use outdoors.

wrote in message
...
On Sun, 23 Dec 2012 13:37:32 -0700, "Steve B" wrote:

I need to caulk a good bit of exterior trim prior to painting. What is
the
best caulk for this purpose. Wood to wood. How good is the regular
cheapo
painters caulk? I want something that is going to last.

Steve


Pure Silicone is the best caulk, but you can NOT paint it. The only
thing to do is paint first, and use clear silicone over it. Otherwise
use painters caulk, but I'd spend the extra couple bucks and get a good
brand. That $1 cheap **** dont last long. Some of the better brands
state a long warranty, like 25 or 40 years. I think they are
exaggerated, because no one will remember what caulk was used in 25 or
more years, so no warranty service will ever occur. But I do think that
that is a better caulk.


You've gotta be the most stupidest **** to come around here, in a long
time. First you give an opinion about an electric caulk gun, which you
never used. And, yet to a person who has a handicap.

Then, the same person wants a caulk prior to painting, and you suggest a
caulk you _can't_ paint.

You dumb *******, crawl back under the rock from where you came.

DanG wrote in :

On 12/24/2012 6:52 AM, wrote:
On Mon, 24 Dec 2012 03:35:00 -0600, DanG wrote:

Do NOT use any kind of silicone with the noted exception of Dow
Corning 795. I wouldn't use any kind of latex.

Why not use silicone? Yes, 100% silicone can not be painted, but
what about the siliconized caulk. That's good stuff.

Do you work for Dow Corning? Sure sounds like it. What is so good
about this 795 stuff?

I think the plain latex caulk is pretty crappy, but dont most caulks
contain at least some latex? Years ago, it was all latex, and it
worked but did not last long. That's the stuff you can usually buy
for under $2 per tube at most stores.

By the way, you can (sort of) paint pure silicone. I discovered this
by accident. Let the silicone dry and weather for several weeks or
more before trying this. Then spray paint it with common spray
paint. Let it dry, and apply another coat. Maybe a 3rd coat....
Then apply your latex paint. It does cover 99% of the silicone. I
found that the stuff called "aluminum paint" (silver paint) works
best. Dont ask me why, but it does work, and the spots I did this
way on my barn trim have held their paint for 4 or 5 years. The 1%
that dont cover is little spots. Maybe if it weathered longer that
would not happen?????


-----
Notice: Always keep your caulk in your pants when women are present.


No, I don't work for any manufacturer. I am a commercial contractor.
I am old and stuck in my ways - I've found things that work well and
see little or no reason to change unless shown at a trade show or
tradesman.
One bad experience with a product or brand will guarantee that I
will
NEVER buy it again.

Go to a real caulk store in your area, not the lumber yard or box
store.
Go where professional caulking contractors buy their materials. See
what brands they carry, ask them for advice on how to take on whatever
it is you are doing. Here is one that I work with (no, I do not work
for): http://www.ssicm.com/constructionsealants.php


Silspec Shari...now I wonder what made them decide on her for the promo?

http://www.ssicm.com/assets/images/silspec_shari_1.jpg
http://www.ssicm.com/assets/images/silspec_shari_2.jpg

nestork wrote:
Several points:

1.
'dadiOH[_3_ Wrote:
;2984270']A professional that I hired to work on a house my wife
inherited swears by a caulk he refers to as "silicon". It isn't,
cleans with paint thinner; it is pricy, comes clear and maybe
colors, can't tell you the name or btrand, HD has it. It *is* good.

Almost certainly the caulk that professional was using was Stone Mason
Gutter & Siding Sealant, which is now being produced and sold in the


Nope, it was this...
http://www.dap.com/product_details.aspx?product_id=6

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1... #.UNiuCPrxZp8

Your caulk sounds great though
______________

There are areas
of my building where I used silicone caulk and I dread the thoughts
of having to remove that caulk should I need to.

I feel your pain. My former step father-in-law was the general on the house
that my wife inherited. He shouldn't have been, had no experience, no
knowledge, totally clueless.

In addition to playing contractor, he built stuff, one of which was a glass
block window in a shower. It wasn't a conventional one with mortar, was a
DIY thing with a plastic frame and plastic separators between the blocks.
The separators were supposed to have beads of silicone to keep them in
place, whole thing was to be caulked with silicone afterwards along the
seams inside & out.

He did a really lousy job with both silicone aspects so I repaired it. I
wasn't about to take it apart to get at the silicone between the blocks but
I did cut/pull/dig out that along the seams and redo - neatly - with
silicone. The neatness was accomplished as much as possible via masking;
difficult because the blocks were not aligned in any of the three
dimensions.


--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

On Mon, 24 Dec 2012 13:37:54 -0500, "Kern" wrote:


wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 23 Dec 2012 13:37:32 -0700, "Steve B" wrote:

I need to caulk a good bit of exterior trim prior to painting. What is
the
best caulk for this purpose. Wood to wood. How good is the regular
cheapo
painters caulk? I want something that is going to last.

Steve


Pure Silicone is the best caulk, but you can NOT paint it. The only
thing to do is paint first, and use clear silicone over it. Otherwise
use painters caulk, but I'd spend the extra couple bucks and get a good
brand. That $1 cheap **** dont last long. Some of the better brands
state a long warranty, like 25 or 40 years. I think they are
exaggerated, because no one will remember what caulk was used in 25 or
more years, so no warranty service will ever occur. But I do think that
that is a better caulk.


You've gotta be the most stupidest **** to come around here, in a long
time. First you give an opinion about an electric caulk gun, which you
never used. And, yet to a person who has a handicap.

Then, the same person wants a caulk prior to painting, and you suggest a
caulk you _can't_ paint.

You dumb *******, crawl back under the rock from where you came.



I see you have already met one of the residential trolls. He will not
crawl back under a rock. He just nym-shifts, changes colors like a
Chameleon. and has a developed pattern of consistency.

Good Luck