# best painter's caulk for interior trim?



## BC Carpenter

just wondering what you painters think is the best product available for paint grade interior trim. As in what is most resistant to shrinking and cracking? 

thanks


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## JHC

Sascho Big stretch.


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## smalpierre

I use Porter/PPG Top Gun 200 for interior / exterior. Never given me any problems, and it's pretty inexpensive. I pay under $2 / tube.


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## SAW.co

PLEASE:no: not another caulking thread

Why spend a lot of money on something that shouldn't need but a little smidgen of caulk any way?

Besides you know what they say " A little putty & a little paint makes a carpenter what he aint :laughing::laughing:."


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## BarryE

SAW.co said:


> PLEASE:no: not another caulking thread
> 
> Why spend a lot of money on something that shouldn't need but a little smidgen of caulk any way?


With painted woodwork, that "little smidgen" separates the painters from the wannabes and a great job from the crap jobs.

For interior woodwork I usually use Big Stretch also


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## artiospainting

white lighting dont shrink or bubble pop.


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## BC Carpenter

SAW.co said:


> PLEASE:no: not another caulking thread
> 
> Why spend a lot of money on something that shouldn't need but a little smidgen of caulk any way?
> 
> Besides you know what they say " A little putty & a little paint makes a carpenter what he aint :laughing::laughing:."


 

This is actually high end work- I'm not caulking gaps or mitres, just the edges of the trim, to blend it all in together, quite a nice look and finishes it well for a painted look. This is trim I do on a reno or a new place, or maybe existing trim where the room is getting painted.

If you do paint grade trim and never caulk your edges or anything, IMO the work is not as good as it could be. Caulk used well works really well, if someone uses it to try and fix their crappy job then it will look like hell or a little better than gaps everywhere. It is just a finishing touch along with filling the nail holes and proper prep that will make it look great when painted. I take it you don't do a lot of this work.

In a painting forum I would expect caulking to be discussed quite a bit. You may want to try the plumbing forum if you dont' want to hear about caulking


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## Workaholic

Big Stretch, I also use Elastomeric 55yr.


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## 4thGeneration

Whatever caulk causes an allergic reaction for any carpenter to pick up is my goto caulk lol. 

Actually I like 950a from SW, but have liked Dynamite and DAP in the past as well. I know the absolute worst caulk was when I first started and they were only available in the cardboard tubes. when they got wet it was the pits for sure. We would have to dry them out cause somebody would leave them out in the open for some reason.


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## Dave Mac

mex flex from duron, has elasmeric in it, i have tested and this stuff rocks


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## KennMacMoragh

Does anyone use the cheap stuff?

My drywall guy uses this and says he's never had a problem with it. I'm leery of it though because it's watery, worried about shrinkage.


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## BarryE

Guess it depends on what the drywaller would use it for?

I'm not a fan of Dap caulking products


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## Sportioli

smalpierre said:


> I use Porter/PPG Top Gun 200 for interior / exterior. Never given me any problems, and it's pretty inexpensive. I pay under $2 / tube.


Same here!


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## KennMacMoragh

BarryE said:


> Guess it depends on what the drywaller would use it for?
> 
> I'm not a fan of Dap caulking products


To caulk where an orange peeled texture wall meets an existing popcorn textured ceiling. Instead of mud and tape, we run a bead of caulk in that corner. Or to fill in wall corners before texturing.


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## moorewarner

I will go a different rout here. You said this wasn't for wood to wood but wood to wall.

Well I will offer what I use for nail filling and wood to wood (and also in some wood to wall situations).

My issue has been speed of application, not as fast using two drywall knives (8" as a hawk and 4" tapered to apply) on long runs, but with the addition of Superseal's fillable gun (the pic on the right) I should be up to caulk speed.

As far as tooling and shaping on wood, it beats caulk hands down. It's sand-able, wont flash, holds a profile, does great at not shrinking or cracking.

I may give his patching compound shown in the picture a try as well.

Just another 2 cents, off-topic and all.


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## BC Carpenter

Yeah so far I've used dap-for where the trim meets the window, where the trim edges of jamb and casing meet and where it meets the wall. I don't find it all that great, it can shrink a bit overnight leading to deficiencies.
thanks for all your input, will have to try a few different ones out next job.


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## roads

*white lightning*



BC Carpenter said:


> This is actually high end work- I'm not caulking gaps or mitres, just the edges of the trim, to blend it all in together, quite a nice look and finishes it well for a painted look. This is trim I do on a reno or a new place, or maybe existing trim where the room is getting painted.
> 
> If you do paint grade trim and never caulk your edges or anything, IMO the work is not as good as it could be. Caulk used well works really well, if someone uses it to try and fix their crappy job then it will look like hell or a little better than gaps everywhere. It is just a finishing touch along with filling the nail holes and proper prep that will make it look great when painted. I take it you don't do a lot of this work.
> 
> In a painting forum I would expect caulking to be discussed quite a bit. You may want to try the plumbing forum if you dont' want to hear about caulking


The better the prep-job the better the finish, I use white lighting for all my caulking needs, after 20 years in this business I've found it has the best spread and controllability. Still no mater what you decide to use carry you a wet rag and a work pot with water in it, wetness of your finger is the key to getting edges down without pulling caulk out of the seams.


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## roads

moorewarner said:


> I will go a different rout here. You said this wasn't for wood to wood but wood to wall.
> 
> Well I will offer what I use for nail filling and wood to wood (and also in some wood to wall situations).
> 
> My issue has been speed of application, not as fast using two drywall knives (8" as a hawk and 4" tapered to apply) on long runs, but with the addition of Superseal's fillable gun (the pic on the right) I should be up to caulk speed.
> 
> As far as tooling and shaping on wood, it beats caulk hands down. It's sand-able, wont flash, holds a profile, does great at not shrinking or cracking.
> 
> I may give his patching compound shown in the picture a try as well.
> 
> Just another 2 cents, off-topic and all.


whats in that patching compound? Is there any "seed oils" in it or is it of the "no shrink" line? Here why I ask...If you use painters putty(seed oil putty" you will get yellowing of the nail holes when you paint them with latex and acrylics, If you use a "no shrink" and paint with oil based paints the nail holes will flash. All this might be okay if your doing low-end work but when it "has" to look right your gonna spend a lot of time fixing stuff.


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## BarryE

KennMacMoragh said:


> To caulk where an orange peeled texture wall meets an existing popcorn textured ceiling. Instead of mud and tape, we run a bead of caulk in that corner. Or to fill in wall corners before texturing.


Ah, I guess i would still prefer Big Stretch or White Lightning


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