Caulk cock up

[randy_byers]

Yesterday I got quite a bit done around the house -- including quite a bit more gardening than I had intended. I managed to scratch my right hand very prettily in the raspberries wrestling with the drip hose, and pretty soon I was pruning every bush in sight in revenge. (Well, actually because once I started tying the damned spineless gladiolas to stakes I noticed that every bush in the yard had responded to the recent heatwave by growing like ape.)

Then I painted the new board on the front porch (replacing one that rotted) which I had caulked last weekend. I discovered that the caulk I used doesn't take paint. Paint recoils from the caulk, in fact. Was I vexed? Hm. Furious is probably more like it, once I got over being stunned and disbelieving. Does anybody know if there's something you can perhaps spray on such caulk that would allow the paint to stick? Otherwise I guess I'm doomed to rip the caulk out again somehow. Bloody fricking hell. Maybe I'll just burn the porch to the ground instead.

Oh well. I also got the housebills up to date and swept fallen cherries off the walk. And over the course of the day I applied water to various thirsty plants with my battered old two-gallon watering can. Today I should work on some fanac that I've been pushing off for too long. I'm going to forget about the caulk up until next weekend. Blast it!

Comments

painting unpaintable caulk

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

So I googled "painting unpaintable caulk" and got this:

Unpaintable Caulk

Question:
I accidently used True Value's unpaintable silicone caulk around an ornate fireplace to seal the cracks in the trim pieces. Sanding would be very difficult, if not impossible. Is there some type of primer you could suggest to use so I could then use a latex paint?

Answer:
"Unpaintable" means exactly what it says; it cannot be primed or painted. Your only solution is to remove it.


Well, okay then!

Re: painting unpaintable caulk

[voidampersand.livejournal.com]

My guess is you want putty.

Re: painting unpaintable caulk

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

To cover the unpaintable caulk, or in place of caulk? What I wanted was paintable caulk, which is what I somehow managed to use when we repainted the house a few years ago.

[time-shark.livejournal.com]

Hi; you don't know me, but tomsdisch says I look like your icon. I figured out of courtesy I should let you know about this...

http://time-shark.livejournal.com/64422.html

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

That's pretty funny! I've recently grown my beard out so that I look more like you now, but perhaps not so much before.

[time-shark.livejournal.com]

Well, you have a real chin, whereas my beard kind of hides that I have, um, more than one...

Re: painting unpaintable caulk

[voidampersand.livejournal.com]

Putty is oil-based and can be sanded and painted after it dries. That having been said, I'm showing my age, and a modern caulk (modern as in available for the last 50 years) would probably be better. Some googling indicates you want a latex-based caulk. Another approach would be to scrape out the silicone caulk, paint to suit, and reapply clear silicone caulk over the paint.

Re: painting unpaintable caulk

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

It was my fault for not paying enough attention, but it still irritates me that the unpaintableness of the silicone caulk was only mentioned in the fine print. But live and learn, eh?

I did actually use some wood putty to cover the nail holes in the board.