Do you have any kitchen caulking tips?

Question

I have laminant kitchen counters which are in great need of caulk. I would like to do it myself. Any thoughts which will help me do it well are appreciated.

Answer 1

My guess is you want to caulk the backslash of the counter top to either the wall or the counter top or both.
It is easy to do yourself, just take you time and it will come out beautiful. Here's how:
1. Use a quality latex silicone caulk such as Dap Latex Plus 35 year. This is what I use for counter tops because it is user friendly, and comes in many colors.
2. Get a caulking gun where ever you get the caulk and ask them to show you how to load and use the gun.
3. Cut the tip at a slight angle with a razor knife starting small and cut larger if you need to. This is very important since the amount of caulk that comes out depends on the size of the hole cut. Too large and you can have quite a mess on your hands.
4. Have a couple wet cloths handy. Apply a bead of caulk to the area needed and smooth with a moist finger. Wipe the excess off your finger with a wet rag each time. If there is too much caulk on the counter or wall, no problem, just keep cleaning your finger with the wet rag and keep wiping until you get it to look right. You can always add more caulk so don't be afraid to take too much off.
I find you need to wipe the caulk with your finger at least 4 or 5 times to get the excess off. You can use the rag if you get way too much caulk on the area by mistake, but generally it will take too much off so I recommend the finger method.

Answer 2

Don't do this, you can try it but acctually I am sharing what I did, I got some dry clear glue, and used it as caulk, the reason I did this was because in little places I need it to caulk I could not reach with what a call the gun, (holder) it worked very good, cannot see it, and I can always pull it off real easy if it gets like dirty and do it again, like I said just sharing my crazyness, plus you know what I get a bottle for 1 dollar.

I don't know much about caulking but when I do it I always have a sponge and a wet rag, I am real messy.

Have fun

Answer 3

after you apply the caulk, use a butter knife that has the tip bent at about 35-45 degrees to do the pointing (that's what it's called with mortar....same principle still applies either way).

Answer 4

Hire a professional caulker...from a masonry restoration company. It will be cheaper and neater for you in the long run.

Never use acrylic latex in an area where there will be moisture or the substrate will be exposed to water. The acrylic latex will melt unless it contains 15-20% silicone.