- 1). Choose a caulk color close to the color of the surface or surfaces you are caulking. If you can match colors closely, you'll have less touchup work to do at the end of the job.
- 2). Place the caulk tube in the gun, and begin by cutting a small hole in the caulk stem. Squeeze the gun's trigger to test the caulk flow. Make the hole bigger if needed, but increase the hole's size in small increments.
- 3). Apply caulk by aligning the stem with the space to be filled and slowly squeezing the caulk gun's trigger. As caulk exits the stem, move the gun along the crack or space at a pace that allows the caulk to leave a solid bead behind.
- 4). Work in small stretches of one to two feet. Stop laying caulk by releasing the gun's trigger and immediately releasing pressure on the caulk tube at the base end of the gun. Releasing the trigger will slow the caulk flow, but the flow will not stop entirely until pressure on the base of the tube is released.
- 5). Moisten your finger with soapy water, and gently draw your finger along the caulk bead, working the caulk into the space. Soap helps make the water slick and allows your finger to slide smoothly, leaving a finished look. If you need additional caulk to completely fill the space, apply another layer using the method above.
- 6). Wipe excess caulk from your finger onto a damp rag, or use it immediately in other spaces to be filled. Also wipe excess caulk from work surfaces using a damp rag. Be careful to rinse the rag frequently so that you don't accidentally wipe caulk onto finished surfaces.
- 7). Move to the adjoining section of work, and begin applying caulk again, blending the two sections with a damp finger.
- 8). Remove the caulk tube from the gun when your work is complete. Wrap the end of the caulk stem with masking tape to keep the caulk from drying out. If caulk at the tip of the stem does dry out, carefully poke a straight pin into the hole and dig the dried caulk out, or push it into the fresh caulk and squeeze the gun's trigger to push the dried caulk out.
- 9). Allow caulk to dry completely, and touch up with paint that matches surrounding surfaces.
previous post