Way to apply caulk with even edge arounda sink?

Question

I am lousy with caulk and never seem to apply it evenly. I need to caulk a sink. Is there any way to apply it evenly?

Answer 1

Put it on and then wet a tea spoon and smooth it out. Wipe of any that is left on the edges. If you tilt the spoon you can make the bead as big or small as you want.

Answer 2

Yes. First of all, the biggest mistake people make with caulk is that they try to "pull it". In other words, they hold the tip as if they were dragging it across the seam. Wrong! You need to "push" the caulk along the seam.

When you move along the seam, hold the caulking tip at a 45 degree angle (or steeper). Watch how the caulk comes out and make sure the caulk is actually going "into" the crack. The tip of the caulk tube will wipe the caulk as you go. The trick is to keep a bead of caulk at the tip of the tube that is a little smaller than the diameter of the tube. The tube will wipe the caulk and it will give you a nice "cove" style edge.

If you want a tighter seam, after you've applied the caulk to the whole line, wipe firmly, but gently, with a damp papertowel or drag a razor blade or "scraper" held at 90 degrees to the seam with the blade down and the edge against the vertical surface. Any remaining caulk can be wiped off after it has dried because it will be so thin it will shear away from the surfaces and leave the bead in the crack.

Good luck.

Answer 3

how wide was the initial bead. If the initial bead was too wide you may want to put a spacer to eat up some of that extra space. This wil in the long run make the bead more stable. As long as the caulking your putting it on is really clean then you shouldnt have a bonding problem. However, caulking is extremely smooth and this might be a problem. I have been doing rennovations to my house for about 6 months off and on and have dealt with many caulking issues. I would personally remove the caulking and do it again with some wedges to take up that extra space.

Answer 4

I am not a professional, so please be careful. I decided to caulk things around my house (I'm not very handy with this). Trial and error taught me to squeeze out the caulk in a line, then put my finger in a glass of water and trace the caulk line, flattening it. At the same time if you have a spot with excessive caulk you can remove the excess. Good luck! Oh also try to keep even pressure on the caulk as you're applying it.

Answer 5

Wet your finger with rubbing-alcohol. Run your finger over the bead of caulk to smooth it and press it into the gap.
You might want to wear latex gloves.
Use a 100% silicon caulk.

Answer 6

I like to use a "pointy" spoon dipped in water. This keeps an even pressure on the bead of caulk, unlike using your finger. Cut the tip of the cauking tube small at first and run a practice bead. If it is too small, cut off a little more until you get the bead you need.

Answer 7

Apply the caulk where you want it. Wet a rag. Keep your fingers wet with it. Run your finger over the caulk pushing it against the seams, wetting and wiping you finger the whole time. Keep smoothing it until you get it nice and smoothed all around.

Answer 8

you should buy the blue tape people use when painting...put that around the sink first so you then have a small area to apply the caulk that way you don't mess up

Answer 9

You can apply with you finger but the correct way is to lift the sink and use plumbers putty under the ring or lip of sink.

Answer 10

with your finger