Millions of people, including a number of us here at BS Fixings, are enjoying the simple yet frustrating daily word game called Wordle. Each day a new five letter word is released, and players have six attempts to guess what the word of the day is. One word that seemed to have social media users struggling with until their very last guess recently, was ‘Caulk’. It appeared that many of those who figured it out seemed unsure of what Caulk is.
So… What is Caulk?
Most commonly used in bathrooms and kitchens against leakage in various structures and piping, Caulk is a flexible filler and sealant used to fill gaps.
What tools do I need to apply Caulk?
For this task, you will need a caulking gun. The Caulking Gun we supply is a high-quality product mostly used for applying caulk on surfaces to reduce water transition. The gun is loaded with a cartridge of a caulking compound (which is a bit like toothpaste!) which can be squeezed out after you press the trigger. You can then apply the paste carefully between the surfaces.
How do you use Caulk?
The tube of caulk you are going to use will have a pointed tip. Carefully use a utility knife to cut the tip of the nozzle. The hole must be small, so make sure you don’t cut lower down than the tip otherwise the opening will be too wide which will result in too much material being distributed.
There is a piece of wire on the caulk gun that swivels out from the shaft below. You can take this piece of wire and push it through the tip of the caulk until you can feel it puncture the tube. Don’t forget to wipe off the wire when you pull it out, or you will have caulk all over your hands while using the gun.
Insert the tube of caulk into the shaft of the gun and pull the trigger until you feel it meet some resistance. On the crack you want to fill, lightly squeeze the handle of the gun at a slow and consistent speed to release the caulk and produce a smooth finish.
Now use your finger to smooth the caulk into the crack. This part of the process can get messy as you need to wipe the excess caulk off your fingers but don’t worry, you will soon get the hang of it as you learn how much pressure to put on the trigger of the caulk gun to get the right amount of caulk out. Remember to wash your hands thoroughly when you’ve finished this process!
If you are using our Ultimate Decorators Caulk, depending on how much of the caulk you have used and how big the gaps are that you are sealing, the caulk should be ready to paint after approximately one hour. However, ideally, we would recommend you give it as long as you can before painting, as it will look best if you give the surface plenty of time to dry.
