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Caulking is not Difficult
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07/10/2010
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Caulking: How to reseal or recaulk a sink, bathtub, vanity, molding, or shower - tutorial
In this blog I will show you how to recaulk a bathroom sink and the surrounding area.
This is the sink that we will be re-caulking today. If you look closely you will notice that the caulking around the sink and surrounding area has cracked with age. We are going to scrape this old caulking out and then replace it with some new, long life caulking.
Here is a picture of the 2 different types of the tool that we will be using today. This is called a painters tool. The two that you see here are slightly different. I will explain:
This first painters tool is a 5-in-1 that can be purchased at just about any hardware or home improvement store. The 5-in-1 painters tool has a hammer end that you can use to pound dings into the wall before puttying and painting, a roller cleaner (the curved part - used for scraping rollers), a scrapper, a cutter or caulking remover, and a flat end that is very handy for opening paint cans.
You can also purchase these in 7-in-1 tools too that have screwdrivers and nail pullers on them. This is a very handy tool and every toolbox should have one.
This second painters tool can also be called a 5-in-1 by some, but I prefer to just think of it as a 4-in-1. It can scrape, cut, clean, and open paint cans. Some people add the scrapper as a putty knife too, but for all intensive purposes it does not make for an excellent putty knife.Now, to get on with the work.
Start by scrapping the old 
Really, the only way to do this is with pure grunt work. You need to lay the scraper flat and then just put a little muscle into it. It does not take long at all to get the hang of it. If you are having trouble then you can use the pointy end of the scrapper to loosen the caulking before removing it all the way. Just keep trimming away until pretty much all the caulking is removed.
Depending on the type of caulking present you might be able to use a little lacquer thinner or other thinning agent to help with the removal process, but this is advised against as it can be harmful is breathed in and is flammable. Either way, use caution as to avoid hurting yourself.
When you are done scrapping the whole surrounding edge should look something like this. If there is still a bunch of junk in there at this point just put a little elbow grease into removing it before proceeding.
The next thing you need to do is to take out your caulking and caulking gun. Place your caulking inside of the caulking gun and take out a cutter to cut the tip of the caulking. It should be noted here that some caulking guns have a spot on them that will actually cut the tip for you. It is usually near the handle of the caulking gun. You simply slide the tip in the amount that you want it cut and crimp the grip and it cuts it off.
It should also be noted that some caulking has a seal inside the tube that you have to shove something down the neck to break. The neck that I am referring to is the place that the caulking comes out. Some caulking guns have a stick attached to them already for this purpose.You want to cut the tip of the caulking according to the size of the caulking bead that you want. The trick is to keep the cut small, because the smaller the caulking bead the easier it is to smooth it out, especially for a novice or someone with no experience. I like to make small 1/4" beads with mine so I only cut off a small piece of the tip. You need to make sure that you cut the tip at an angle too.
This picture shows a close-up view of the angle that you want to cut. Here I have cut it a 45 degree angle. If you are thinking that this is larger than a 1/4" then you are probably right, I cut this one in a hurry, but do remember that this is a close-up.
Next you want to take the caulking and gently squeeze the trigger and move the gun around the area to be caulked nice and slow. Slow and steady wins the race in this one.The trick is to clean the tip often and make sure that the angle you cut is facing directly into the surface you are caulking at the same angle as the cut.
In other words the caulking gun should also be at about a 45 degree angle. Don't worry if you mess up the first time, you can just wipe the caulk out before it has time to dry and start over.
Do the same thing for all of the edges making sure to maintain that 45 degree angle. It may take a few passes to get it just right. Remember that here less is more.You can add as much as you want because you can always take the extra off, but I like to use just enough to fill the hole. Don't worry what it looks like at this stage, it will look better in a minute.
Same thing for the surrounding areas. Just lightly apply caulking to the area at a 45 degree angle.
This is what the area should look like once you have put the caulk on, but not wiped it yet.
Now, lightly take your finger and smooth the caulking out. I like to start with my middle finger, but everyone is comfortable with a different one, so use what feels best.Keeping a steady pace here is important. Make sure that before you stop your hand that you pull it off of the caulking in a moving motion.
If you pull your finger off without moving it and pulling at the same time then you will wind up with spots that you will need to fix.
Same thing here, just a different direction.
While doing a back edge where there really is not too much room I find that placing some extra caulking on the side and then sliding it into place with my finger works best. That is what I am doing here.
You do basically the same thing with the sides, but you might want to change the bead size that you lay down depending on your preferences. I know here I laid a smaller bead on the vanity than I did on the edge of the sink.
Same thing here, but a different direction. I included all these pictures to show you the angle that my finger and hand are at.
In a corner like this it is normally easier to start about halfway up the edge and go in the up direction first and then start towards the top and go back down all the way - making sure to curve and slide your finger to the left or right once you get to the bottom.Corners are very tricky, but give it a few shots and you will get it just fine.
As you can see here this corner is not done, and somehow I failed to get a finished picture of this corner, but I slid my finger down the side and to the left to even out that spot.
Remember to email me or post a comment with any questions!
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Hope this was helpful!