Refresh caulk at baseboards and trim
Cracked caulk lines make the whole room look neglected, 20 minutes of work to fix.
What you'll learn
- Why paintable acrylic caulk (not silicone) for interior trim
- How to cut the caulk tube tip at the right angle
- The wet-finger smoothing technique that makes caulk disappear
- When old caulk needs removal first vs. caulking over
Step by step
- Cut the caulk tube tip at a 45° angle, opening about 1/8".
- Load the tube in the caulk gun, puncture the inner seal.
- Apply a thin continuous bead along the gap between trim and wall.
- Wet your finger and smooth the bead in one continuous pass.
- Let cure 2 hours before painting over.
If old caulk is separating from the wall, scrape it out with a utility knife before laying fresh, caulking over failed caulk just looks thicker a month later when it fails again.
Rather have a pro handle it?
Licensed painters across San Diego County. Free in-home estimates, and a real person picks up.
Keep learning.
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Save the leftover paint. The right touch-up technique keeps the fix from standing out.
Patch nail holes before paint
The difference between an invisible patch and an obvious one is 90 seconds of extra prep.
Test paint colors before committing
Paint on a swatch card in a store tells you nothing about how it'll look on your wall.