Bathtub caulk DIY

[expatjen]

Hi! How hard is it to re-caulk a bathtub? Anyone have any tips / tricks to help make the process easier?

I’d rather not call a handyman to do it - saving myself $ - but will I regret doing it on my own?

[k3am]

How handy/steadyhanded/attentive to detail are you? I did our old house. Several times, because I was never able to get it right and ended up getting mold in areas and doing it again.

I'm not sure how much a handy man costs to do it, but if/when we need to do our hall bath at our new house, I'll probably scrape out the old on my own and (pathetically) hire someone to do the actual caulking since I'm so awful at it.

[lessel]

My process is probably terrible but I get good results. I use my fingers. I pipe in a thin bead and then I use my middle or ring finger to swipe it in place. I have a roll of paper towels with several torn off in advance and laying in a pile. I wipe my finger off after each run and put the paper towel into a trash bag right away. It creates a lot of trash but otherwise using the same paper towel or a rag over and over just ends up getting caulk everywhere.

If you’re scraping it too you have to get everything. Get in deep in all the crevices and I’ve even taken a razor blade after to get little swipes that are the thinnest pieces. Having a completely clean surface really helps. Caulking over any kind of bumps or debris just ends poorly.

[sakura]

I use my finger to smooth it out too. I’ve found if you wet your finger and use your ring finger or pinkie finger so you don’t apply too much pressure it smooths out nicely. The plastic squeeze tubes of caulk are easier for beginners than the the cylinder tube and caulk gun.
There’s also a triangular shaped caulk remover tool that works really well for removing old caulk.

[bee20]

I could not imagine calling a handyman for this. If you can frost a cake you can caulk a bathtub!

My tips would be to sit/kneel in the bathtub while you are doing the work, because the tub flexes down with water and people and it's better to apply it in the wider position.

When you are opening the tube, pay attention to how big of an opening you cut off. It's easier to make it bigger than smaller so start with a small diagonal cut and then whittle a little more off if it's a pain to get the stuff flowing. It will be a lot easier if the opening is about the size of the gap you are trying to fill or a smidge smaller. 

And as others have said smooth it with your finger, I like to wear a plastic/nylon glove and keep a cup of water so I am smoothing with a damp finger. It seems to stick less that way and make a smoother result (you don't want drops of water coming off of your finger, dip it in and then flick it off). I prefer not to mask with tape, I find it leaves a sharp edge that picks up gunk. Instead, if you get globs somewhere you don't want it wipe it off with a damp cloth or paper towel. Check youtube for detailed techniques if you've having trouble picturing this.

[expatjen]

Thanks everyone. I think I’m pretty handy (I’ve installed a bidet on our toilet and can put together IKEA furniture LOL)

I appreciate the tips and I think I’ll give it a try this weekend after watching a few more YouTube videos.

Thanks for the tip about the gloves, too! I hadn’t thought of that 👍🏽

[k3am]

Oct 19, 2021 16:25:41 GMT -5 bee20 said:

I could not imagine calling a handyman for this. If you can frost a cake you can caulk a bathtub!

My mother is a career cake decorator and I can't frost a cake. 

I also am at a point in life I will happily outsource the things I don't want to do, am not good doing, and that bring me absolutely no joy. It's very a imaginable option for someone like me.

[dr.girlfriend]

I've seen a tip where you put painter's tape where you don't want caulk (e.g. on the wall surface and on the flat surface), apply the caulk, swipe it with a wet finger, and then peel the tape off while it's still wet. Not sure if there's any reason not to do it this way, but it made sense to me.  I bought all the stuff to do it myself for my kitchen counter but I couldn't figure out the caulk gun and gave up, lol.

[rocklake]

Baby wipes are my best caulk tip. They can remove excess caulk from your fingers and any mistakes you make on the tub. They're the right amount of moisture to easily wipe but not soak things.

[expatjen]

Oct 19, 2021 22:24:56 GMT -5 rocklake said:

Baby wipes are my best caulk tip. They can remove excess caulk from your fingers and any mistakes you make on the tub. They're the right amount of moisture to easily wipe but not soak things.

Oh, great tip! Thanks

[carmenere]

Oct 19, 2021 16:20:46 GMT -5 sakura said:

I use my finger to smooth it out too. I’ve found if you wet your finger and use your ring finger or pinkie finger so you don’t apply too much pressure it smooths out nicely. The plastic squeeze tubes of caulk are easier for beginners than the the cylinder tube and caulk gun.
There’s also a triangular shaped caulk remover tool that works really well for removing old caulk.

I second this - caulk guns are a PITA and the squeeze tubes are much easier to control. Caulking isn’t hard, just tedious.

[jackie011]

I did this recently and looked up a This Old House video on caulking. It was very simple and I was pleased with the results. I used blue painters tape to create a uniform guide.

[froggyfarts2point0]

Oct 19, 2021 16:10:44 GMT -5 lessel said:

My process is probably terrible but I get good results. I use my fingers. I pipe in a thin bead and then I use my middle or ring finger to swipe it in place. I have a roll of paper towels with several torn off in advance and laying in a pile. I wipe my finger off after each run and put the paper towel into a trash bag right away. It creates a lot of trash but otherwise using the same paper towel or a rag over and over just ends up getting caulk everywhere.

If you’re scraping it too you have to get everything. Get in deep in all the crevices and I’ve even taken a razor blade after to get little swipes that are the thinnest pieces. Having a completely clean surface really helps. Caulking over any kind of bumps or debris just ends poorly.

Not terrible! This is exactly the way my husband smooths caulking and he was a professional painter for over a decade.


Overflow the region in a clean line and smooth with a finger, wiping his caulked finger on a damp rag between applications. If he underestimated the gap, just run a new line and repeat until it's smooth, clean and fully filled. 

[aspentosh]

There is a tool you should buy to remove the old caulk before putting new caulk on tho. It's like $5 and worth it to start with a new surface.

But as others have said, totally DIY friendly. Wet your finger to wipe off and it's golden.

[expatjen]

Oct 21, 2021 9:55:37 GMT -5 aspentosh said:

There is a tool you should buy to remove the old caulk before putting new caulk on tho. It's like $5 and worth it to start with a new surface.

But as others have said, totally DIY friendly. Wet your finger to wipe off and it's golden.

👍🏽 Got the tools and the caulk today. Going to attempt this weekend. Crossing fingers it goes well!

Thanks again everyone for the tips!

[dr.girlfriend]

Oct 21, 2021 21:37:42 GMT -5 expatjen said:

Oct 21, 2021 9:55:37 GMT -5 aspentosh said:

There is a tool you should buy to remove the old caulk before putting new caulk on tho. It's like $5 and worth it to start with a new surface.

But as others have said, totally DIY friendly. Wet your finger to wipe off and it's golden.

👍🏽 Got the tools and the caulk today. Going to attempt this weekend. Crossing fingers it goes well!

Thanks again everyone for the tips!

I've been putting off forever redoing the caulk behind my bathroom sink -- you've inspired me!

[expatjen]

Oct 22, 2021 15:24:55 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

Oct 21, 2021 21:37:42 GMT -5 expatjen said:

👍🏽 Got the tools and the caulk today. Going to attempt this weekend. Crossing fingers it goes well!

Thanks again everyone for the tips!

I've been putting off forever redoing the caulk behind my bathroom sink -- you've inspired me!

Good luck!