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Nate discussing the importance of using high-performance products with Fine Homebuilding at IBS 2023.

Silicone gets a lot of talk. You’ll find contractors who either love it and use it religiously or hate it for its tricky application prep and cure time. While silicone can be stickier and tougher than traditionally-used latex products and is often considered the go-to for waterproof caulk, it can malfunction in a number of ways that have contractors everywhere scratching their heads–or expending hours of precious time during reapplication.

To help ease the challenges of finding the right sealant, we want to present some alternatives to the infamous silicone. This article will dive into a few reasons why silicone might not be your best bet and we will discuss a better waterproof caulk alternative for your next job.

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Finding the right caulk that checks off every box can be challenging. Painting caulk gets even more complicated. Before you buy, ready these six important things to know about painting over caulk.

To do an excellent job for your customer on a kitchen or bath job, you need a sealant that will last, hold up to moisture, and don’t take away from the aesthetic. Contractors are often forced to sacrifice when using a caulking product. Perhaps it has the waterproofing properties required for a job but can’t be painted to match its surroundings. So, what’s the solution? Can a paintable, water-resistant caulk with superior elasticity meet all your needs?

Typically, you’ll have to choose between latex, which is paintable and easy to tool, and silicone, which has good adhesion and water resistance. Neither of these covers all the bases, but we have good news for you. There are new technologies that offer a better way.

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Finding the right caulk that checks off every box can be challenging. Painting caulk gets even more complicated. Before you buy, ready these six important things to know about painting over caulk.

To do an excellent job for your customer on a kitchen or bath job, you need a sealant that will last, hold up to moisture, and don’t take away from the aesthetic. Contractors are often forced to sacrifice when using a caulking product. Perhaps it has the waterproofing properties required for a job but can’t be painted to match its surroundings. So, what’s the solution? Can a paintable, water-resistant caulk with superior elasticity meet all your needs?

Typically, you’ll have to choose between latex, which is paintable and easy to tool, and silicone, which has good adhesion and water resistance. Neither of these covers all the bases, but we have good news for you. There are new technologies that offer a better way.

(more…)

 

Are silicone sealants the best answer to caulk performance needs?

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As a contractor, it can be difficult to find a balance between performance and productivity. Water-based sealants are very easy to use on siding and other exterior surfaces – but can they provide the quality you’re looking for? The answer is yes, but you’ll need to find the best exterior caulk for the job.

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No.

No, your new caulk won’t stick to silicone caulk. Sorry to be so abrupt, but it’s the truth. You can stop reading now if you don’t want all of the details and the whys. Here at Sashco, we love the “whys,” so we’re trudging ahead.Nothing sticks to silicone – not paint, not new caulking products. Not even silicone will stick to itself.

Fact is: nothing will stick to silicone – not even silicone. For the average person who needs to re-caulk their windows, bathtub, or anything else around the house, failed silicone means starting over from the very beginning.

Why won’t your new caulk stick to silicone?

You see, silicone has oils in it. These oils are introverts. They don’t like crowds. When silicone is first applied, these oils are all together in one happy bead of caulk. It’s quite the crowd! Over time, their introverted nature kicks in and they have to exit the crowd. Those oils migrate out of the original silicone bead to find some open space. They might migrate into whatever porous surface is nearby, or they’ll just hang out in their own happy little space on the surface of the original bead. (Perhaps there’s a happy little tree there, too.)

In the meantime, nothing else is allowed into their space. They’re quite stubborn about it. Their space is for them only, so no new sealants – no matter the kind! – will stick.

What can you do if you need to re-caulk and silicone is present?

You have two options:

  1. Use a silicone caulk remover to remove all silicone before applying new caulk. Completely remove the silicone.
  2. Apply the new caulk over top, making sure the new caulk bead is wider and outside of the silicone caulk, sticking to a clean, silicone-free surface.
Silicone caulk remover - use before applying new caulk.

Option 1: Remove the silicone

  1. Use a silicone remover, readily available at hardware stores, to get rid of all traces of silicone. We like McKanica Silicone Caulk Remover.
  2. Thoroughly clean the surface with rubbing alcohol to make sure there is no silicone residue left.
  3. Once any silicone is removed, you can apply new caulk. Reapply caulk. (Psst…Sashco’s products would be great for your re-caulking project!)
    Once silicone is removed, you can apply new caulk.

Option 2: Apply a wider bead of caulk

  1. Clean the surface of the silicone bead, as well as surrounding areas, with rubbing alcohol to remove as much oil as possible.
  2. Test a small area with the wider bead of caulk. Make sure no silicone oil molecules are still residing where the new bead needs to stick.
  3. If the test turns out OK, apply the new caulk, making sure it’s sticking to clean surfaces on either side of the silicone.
  4. Cross your fingers and hope that the oils don’t decide to become a menace and hurt the new sealant adhesion in the future. If that doesn’t work, revert to Option 1.

For future consideration

Silicone has its place in the world. It’s great for applications where there are extreme temperatures. (They love it in Antarctica!) But for most areas around the home, it’s not ideal. Instead, choose a high-performance sealant (like Sashco’s) with excellent elasticity and adhesion to a variety of surfaces. Then, make sure that product will stick to itself, in case you have to do repairs down the road. All of Sashco’s sealants will stick to themselves, making any (unlikely) future repairs or retrofits much easier.

Need some more info? Here are some other resources:

Can you caulk over silicone? In a word, no.

No, your new caulk won’t stick to silicone caulk. Sorry to be so abrupt, but it’s the truth. You can stop reading now if you don’t want all of the details and the whys. Here at Sashco, we love the “whys,” so we’re trudging ahead.

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