Any advice on re-caulking a bathroom tub?

Question

It seems pretty straight forward, but this is my first time with caulk. Any advice would be helpful! Thanks!

Answer 1

The biggest thing is giving it time to dry...with my experience, I didn't and turned on the shower to early, ruining the edges of the caulk.

Good luck!

Answer 2

1.  Remove all of the old caulk before embarking on adding new.  Thoroughly clean the area and let dry.  

2.  For tubs, fill it with water BEFORE you caulk.  The weight of the water will make the gap slightly bigger and will maximize your caulking (forgoing that step could stretch the caulk when you fill the bath for the first time, breaking the seal and making your work pointless!)  

3.  Use a caulk gun and squeeze an even bead into the seam.  Use an old damp t-shirt and wrap it tightly around your index finger.  Run that finger along the seam, creating a smooth line, then discard the excess caulk, rewrap the t-shirt in a new "fresh" spot and continue smoothing the next section.  

Good Luck!

Answer 3

Scrape all the old out, wd-40 can soften to make it easier. If you have a cast iron covered by enamel tub, it is very hard to scratch, fiber glass scratches much easier. A putty knife is a good tool for this.

wash the area with soap and then rubbing alcohol, and let dry

if your tub is cast iron, it won't bend significantly so filling with water is not needed.

use masking tape to make 2 parallel lines to expose only the area where you want the caulk. if the gap is small (< 1/4 inch wide) one pass of caulk should do, otherwise fill large gaps with in 2 passes. most gaps are small enough for 1 pass

silicone caulk is fine. run the bead of caulk along the gap, more is not better as much of the caulk will need to be removed

after the caulk is applied, wait about 5 minutes and then take a wet finger and smooth it out in the crack,pressing it in as much as possible and keep a uniform look around the tub, rewetting your finger and wipping excess onto a paper towel as needed

let it dry for about 20 minutes and remove the tape, careful not to peel up the caulk. the caulk should be as thin as possible where it meets the tape to avoid issues.

do not use for at least 8 hrs and don't use cleaners on it for a week.

if you are not happy with the look(which is not uncommon on first try),  the sooner you peel it up and redo, the easier it will be.

the tape trick makes this job easy if you are careful

Answer 4

There are two basic types of caulks in use:

water based and non-water based.

Water based caulks The presence of water in the caulk is an advantage if you are interested in clean-up and workability.

It is a disadvantage if you are looking for extremely long life.

Non-water based caulks.

These caulks offer superior durability, flexibility and adhesive strength.

Paint will not adhere to pure silicone caulks.

Silicone caulks are the hardest caulk to remove.

Silicone caulks are a challenge.

Take your time and use lacquer thinner to tool the joint.

Ventilate well, if indoors Also, because they stick so well to many non-porous objects, removing excess silicone can be difficult.