How to remove excess caulk

Hold a glass scraper at a very shallow angle to one of the surfaces. Scrape the caulk residue off the surface the way you would with a razor blade. Repeat this with the other surface. Pull out the slivers of caulk with the pliers.

Put a tube of caulk in the caulk gun. Use the razor knife to cut off the tip of the tube at a 45-degree angle in order to make a hole about 1/4-inch wide. Push a long nail into the tip of the tube to break the seal inside. Squeeze the trigger of the gun to start the caulk flow.

When applying caulk, more is not always better. If you apply too much caulk to a joint and then smooth it out with a finger, the caulk tends to spread onto adjoining surfaces.

You should be able to force more caulk into the voids and not have any issues. Adding more caulk on top to even it out can be a little iffy. Everything needs to be good and dry before you caulk so it’s best to do the caulking and let it dry before getting it wet.

You can recaulk over old caulk, but you should never do it.

Our recaulking experts will remove every bit of your icky, failing caulk. They will apply a 100% silicone caulk, which resists shrinking over time. You will be left with a fresh, bright, and watertight wet-dry tiled area.

Get a sharp knife and try to cut it. If it is very rubbery and somewhat soft, it is most likely a pure silicone caulk. If it seems to be very hard, then it is probably a water-based latex or PVA caulks, such as Loctite “2 in 1” (formerly Polyseamseal), Phenoseal, or one of the hardware store brands.

You can use a utility knife or putty knife, slicing through the caulk and peeling it away. For multiple layers of caulk, needle-nosed pliers might work best. There are also specialized caulk removal tools designed to tear away caulk cleanly. And always take extra precautions when using sharp tools.

100% silicone caulk has great adhesion and flexibility, making it the best choice for caulking around a bathtub, but it’s so sticky it can be hard to spread out evenly. The trick is to use ethyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol might also work) when you smooth the caulk bead.

Place a small bead of caulk in your joint and then spray it with windex or something similar. The silicone will not stick to the windex and you can then tool the joint and wipe off the excess.

To make it easier to spread silicone caulking:

Put denatured alcohol in a plant mister type spray bottle. Use a caulking gun to apply a bead of 100% silicone caulk to the joint. Apply a fine mist of denatured alcohol to the caulking bead using the spray bottle.

Caulking Tips

It’s best to tool silicone and polyurethane joints with a plastic spoon or a caulk tool. For poly caulk, wet the tool surface with solvent to get smooth results with this super-sticky material.