Read a tip about caulking with a wet finger and it actually works

I was in the hardware store last weekend and overheard this old guy telling his son to dip your finger in soapy water before smoothing out caulk. Figured it was worth a shot on my bathroom baseboards. I used a cheap 3 dollar tube of Alex Plus and it came out way cleaner than any tool I've tried. Has anyone else found that the messy methods actually give the best results?

3 comments

3 Comments

amy9744d ago

Huh, wait, tape on both sides before you even squeeze? That is wild. I gotta try that next time @olivia398, because the wet finger trick worked great on my baseboards but I could see tape making it even more foolproof. Peeling it while wet sounds like the key to not having to scrub anything.

olivia3984d ago

Tape works great until you peel it off and realize a little caulk bled underneath anyway, so you're still wiping edges. Wet finger method alone is simpler and just as clean if you drag slow.

the_aaron4d ago

Start by trying masking tape on both sides of the joint before you even squeeze the tube. I saw a guy on YouTube do it and figured what the hell. After you run the bead and smooth it with your wet finger, peel the tape off while the caulk is still wet. The tape gives you these razor straight lines with zero cleanup. No wiping, no goofing around with paper towels. Just a perfect finish every time. It adds a few minutes to the setup but saves you ten minutes of scrubbing mistakes off your trim.