Replies

1. 
   MarkH | Sep 08, 2007 10:38pm | #1

   Painters caulk.  Yeah, that's the name of it.  Cheap, dries fast, paintable.  Not good outside.

2. 
   Sphere | Sep 08, 2007 10:41pm | #2

   White Lightning, no, not the hooch.

   Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

   "If you want something you've never had, do something you've never done"

3. 
   FLA Mike | Sep 09, 2007 03:36am | #3

   I'd say go with Big Stretch because it goes on easy ('spreads like mayonnaise' they say), cleans up easy, and it won't flash the paint like some others do.

   Don't buy a cheap caulk, it always cracks too soon.  Go with a 50-year caulk or better, anything less I haven't seen do a great job under pressure.

   Dap's Dynaflex is good, but flashes bad.  GE's paintable silicone is my preference, but it can get messy if you don't watch out, solvent cleanup. 

   You can get a really clean job from a latex caulk if you follow behind with a damp rag, not using much pressure, getting it off the surfaces but leaving it in the crack. 

   "I wanna be a race car passenger.  You know, the guy that bugs the driver.  Say, man, can I stick my feet out the window?  Do we have to keep going in circles?  Mind if I turn on the radio?  Boy, you really like Tide."

4. 
   grpphoto | Sep 09, 2007 04:01am | #4

   I use the "Alex" brand sold by Home Depot. They sell a "painter's caulk", which is very good, but I also use the type that's half silicone. I always use the half-silicone type with the joint between baseboard and a tile floor, and I will use the same stuff with the wall joint on one of these rooms. If it's not a tile floor, the painter's caulk is what I generally use.

   Warning. If you use the painter's caulk outside, make sure you paint it before it rains.

   George Patterson

   
   

   ---

   Edited 9/8/2007 9:01 pm ET by grpphoto

5. 
   WayneL5 | Sep 09, 2007 05:29am | #5

   Painter's caulk will work, but products so labled are generally the low end and age faster than those that cost a little more.  I recommend any brand of siliconized acrylic latex that is at the higher end (35 year or 50 year) of any manufacturer's line.

6. 
   DonCanDo | Sep 09, 2007 06:22am | #6

   For interior caulk, I use Alex painters caulk: http://www.dap.com/product_details.aspx?product_id=1

   It's cheap and very paintable.  I figure pretty much any caulk should work because I don't expect to see continued movement between interior trim pieces (such as baseboard/shoe or baseboard/wall) and I'm not trying to maintain a waterproof seal.

7. 
   gbwood | Sep 09, 2007 11:34am | #7

   I pay a bit more for the brand "Polyseamseal" - I find it tools off much easier than other brands. Plus it is an adhesive as well. I know Lowes here in LA carries it.

    

   greg

1. 
   Danno | Sep 09, 2007 03:06pm | #8

   Like others said, I like ALex or, as gbwood said, Polyseamseal (maybe because I just like the name?). Alex used to smell like bananas, but either I got used to it, or they are using another aromatic ester.

   Edit: One thing I found (amazing what you learn when you read the tube!), PL must cure a week before being painted and Lexel should cure at least 48 hours! I can't imagine professional painters waiting that long between caulking and painting--when the guy I work with caulks, he paints right over the wet caulk!

   Edited 9/9/2007 8:08 am ET by Danno

8. 
   Piffin | Sep 10, 2007 04:40am | #9

   We also use either White Lightening or Polyseamseal there. The polyseam seems more expensive but also seems to go further

    

    

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