When caulking interior trim, I always have a lot of excess caulk to remove and discard. It’s tempting to use my paint clothes, an apron, or a rag as a depository for excess caulk, but that inevitably just spreads the caulk to places where it shouldn’t go. Instead, I’ve started carrying around a small writing tablet and wiping the caulk on the top sheet of paper. When the top sheet gets loaded to the saturation point, I tear off the sheet and toss it. Now I’ve got a clean slate for the next bead of caulk that needs tooling.
Byron Papa, Durham, NC
Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #226
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Brilliant.
I'm stealing that idea!
A trick I learned watching some countertop installers was to have a small bucket of water and a grout sponge. Dip the sponge, wring out until just damp so no dripping water, wipe excess caulk in the sponge. When saturated, simply rinse well in the bucket, wring out and you're set to go again. Of course, only works with water soluble caulk.
Much simpler than my method. When my finger gets too much caulk on it, I find the homeowner's dog and let it lick the caulk off my finger. If there's no dog around, I wipe it on the underside of their kitchen table. Once it dries, it looks just like all the dried gum. But I do like the paper tablet method. Does it matter if it's graph or lined paper?