Caulking Recommendations

[GoingMyWay]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good white caulking?  I've really mostly used Dap Alex Plus, but that stuff always seems to crack and open up after only a year or less.  The caulking will primarily be used inside, but there are some large cracks on the underside of an exterior bay window that I'd also like to fill.

 

[tjbnwi]

Sherwin Williams Sher-Max

Big Strech

OSI Quad Max. (Don’t use the regular Quad inside)

Tom

 

[GoingMyWay]

Thanks for those suggestions.  Did you happen to list the caulks in order of preference?  The Big Stretch sounds good and it's available on both Amazon and at my local Lowes.

Curious: why should the regular Quad be used inside?

 

[w802h]

I like Phenoseal.  It's a vinylester adhesive caulk.  They have different colors and properly tooled the clear becomes invisible when cured, which helps me get in and out of small remodels fast (without a lot of extra painting).  Also, caulk should be applied to primed surfaces (not bare wood) for a better service life.  I agree that there are much better caulks than Alex Plus. 

 

[GoingMyWay]

It seems like just about anything is better than Alex Plus.  I regret wasting so much time cutting/scraping out the old caulk on the stair baseboard trim only to use the Alex Plus, which cracked and separated in very little time.

How is the cleanup with the Phenoseal.  I think I used pure silicone caulking before and it was super flexible, but it was a real mess to try to clean up.

 

[Cheese]

Anything with the name DAP on it, I avoid like the plague. Seriously, I can’t understand how they’re still in business.  [mad] [mad]  That stuff cracks and separates within 6-9 months.

I use Big Stretch for inside jobs and Vulkem for exterior jobs. Vulkem is a PITA to apply but once cured it just plain works forever. It never dries out, never hardens, never gives up its bond strength and it never loses its elasticity.

 

[Bob D.]

We use Sika Products for most stuff at work, but you might find an acrylic caulk with silicone such as that made by Loctite to your liking.
http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/pss_seal_acws/overview/Loctite-Acrylic-Caulk-with-Silicone.htm

"Loctite Polyseamseal Acrylic Caulk with Silicone is a high quality acrylic caulk with added silicone to give extra durability and adhesion. Its fast set formulation is paintable within 30 minutes and provides a flexible seal that locks out air, moisture, dirt, dust and insects."

Should be available at local hardware or lumber yard and big box stores.

 

[tjbnwi]

Thanks for those suggestions.  Did you happen to list the caulks in order of preference?  The Big Stretch sounds good and it's available on both Amazon and at my local Lowes.

Curious: why should the regular Quad be used inside?

Yes.

Quad does not recommend it due to off gassing.

Tom

 

[GoingMyWay]

Thanks for those suggestions.  Did you happen to list the caulks in order of preference?  The Big Stretch sounds good and it's available on both Amazon and at my local Lowes.

Curious: why should the regular Quad be used inside?

Yes.

Quad does not recommend it due to off gassing.

Tom

Thanks! 

Oops I just realized I forgot the "not."  Glad you knew what I meant!

 

[w802h]

Phenoseal squeezes easily from the tube and cleans up easily with a damp (water) rag.  Often the clean-up for Silicone is solvent based like Mineral Spirits. 

 

[Twoodman66]

+1 for Shermax and big stretch

 

[GoingMyWay]

Thanks for all the suggestions.  I picked up a couple of tubes of Big Stretch.  I haven't done the caulking yet, but I'll report back once I'm done.

 

[GoingMyWay]

I had a couple questions before I laid down the new Big Stretch caulking:

[list type=decimal]
[*]Is it really necessary to remove the old caulk before applying new Big Stretch caulking?  The old caulking is acrylic latex caulking, it's not silicone.  I've heard that new caulk will not stick to new caulk, but it seems like a big waste (time and filler perspective) to pull out the old cauk.
[*]OSI Quad Max lists its application temperature range as 0 - 140F.  It's been really really cold here in Northern Virginia the past couple of days - ~10-30F, which is super cold for here.  Is it safe to apply the caulking outside in these temperatures?
[/list]

I attached some photos for reference.  The first picture is how the cracked caulking looks on the lowest set of stairs.  Second picture is a closeup of the first picture.  Third picture is the caulk joint cleaned out.  Fourth picture is a window sill with cracked caulking.

 

[tjbnwi]

1) Remove the cracked caulk the best you can.

2) I'd wait-----it's to cold to bother going out there. Find something else to do indoors.

Tom

 

[GoingMyWay]

1) Remove the cracked caulk the best you can.

2) I'd wait-----it's to cold to bother going out there. Find something else to do indoors.

Tom

Thanks for your reply!

1) The second to last picture is about as good as I can remove the cracked caulk that I can.  There are so many more areas of cracked caulked that I'd seemingly spend the rest of my life trying to clean it out perfectly - only to miss many more spots.

2) Good idea - it's probably been cracked like that for 3-4++ years.  I just happened to notice it now.  It can definitely wait.  I just thought since I was on my caulking frenzy, I might as well bang it out now.

 

[tjbnwi]

Caulk the trim.

Tom

 

[Cheese]

I know it’s a PITA to remove the caulk but that’s your best option. A narrow, very sharp chisel will be your best friend. If it’s razor sharp, it will make the task relatively easy.

I wouldn’t apply caulk outside at any temps below 40 degrees. Otherwise it may freeze rather than cure.

 

[tjbnwi]

I find pulling works better than scraping.

Either one of these work in the pull direction.
https://www.harborfreight.com/seal-puller-with-2-tips-63039.html
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002RN44E...t=&hvlocphy=9016209&hvtargid=pla-307905349649

I'm real lazy, I use this blade on the Vecturo;
https://www.amazon.com/Festool-5001...=UTF8&qid=1514953573&sr=8-12&keywords=festool+vecturo+blade

Tom

 

[RKA]

I use a Bosch flexible scraper blade (not the hard blade) on a multitool to remove old hardened caulk and it works like a champ along the drywall.

 

[Cheese]

For chasing narrow features these are a couple of my favorites. That said, because they are very narrow, you have to be very careful when guiding these chisels to prevent them from digging in to the adjoining surfaces. Sharp...Sharp...Sharp...that’s what’s important.