emma_wells83•1d agoProlific Poster

Debate: Should you paint over old caulk or rip it all out first?

My buddy swears by just painting over cracking caulk in the bathroom, says it saves time and looks fine for a year. But after I tried that last winter, the whole thing peeled off in my shower in Silver Lake within 2 months. What do you guys do when you get feedback from someone who says your DIY shortcut is the way to go?

3 comments

3 Comments

jake7471d ago

Yo no kidding, @jenny_lee nailed it! I tried the same shortcut in my laundry room and thought I’d save an afternoon. Three weeks later I had this gross bubbly mess around the sink edge, looked way worse than the old caulk ever did. Ripping it all out is the only way to go, I even found a little pocket of mold behind the old stuff that would have just kept growing under the paint. You ever get that weird musty smell a month later? That’s the water trapped under the paint doing its thing.

jenny_lee1d ago

Oh man, I learned that lesson the hard way too! I painted over old caulk in my kitchen and it looked okay for maybe a month before it started bubbling up and peeling in chunks. Now I always rip it all out first, even if it takes extra time, because doing it right the first time saves me from having to fix it all over again later.

amy_martin1d ago

Rip it all out first" is exactly right, but the part nobody talks about is making sure the surface is bone dry before you seal it. I thought I wiped mine dry after cleaning, but the gap behind the faucet had a tiny bit of moisture stuck in there, and the new caulk got this weird cloudy look after a week because the water couldn't escape. Now I use a hairdryer on low for like 2 minutes in the corners just to be sure, lol.