That $28 caulk gun with the auto-advance lever is the only tool I don't loan out anymore

Guy at the Habitat store in Austin swore by it, so I grabbed one last month and it laid a perfect bead on my tub without the wrist cramp, but my neighbor borrowed it and now the trigger sticks, anyone else find these things die after one misuse?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_brian3d ago

My neighbor did the same thing to my caulk gun, borrowed it for a shower project and suddenly the plunger rod was bent like a question mark. Took me a while to figure out he'd been using it to push out old grout from a tube he'd left in the freezer, which is a whole other level of nonsense. That thing died on the spot, and now I just point to my shed and say "nope" whenever he asks for anything. The auto-advance ones are picky, they don't like being forced backward or sideways. A buddy of mine swears by soaking the trigger in WD-40 overnight, but mine never recovered from the freezer incident. Might be worth trying before you buy another one, but honestly, some tools are just one-trick ponies.

stella222d ago

Hell yeah, I feel that. @the_brian, my old caulk gun did the same thing after my brother in law used it to pry open a paint can. I took the trigger assembly apart, scrubbed everything with a wire brush, and hit the rod with some lithium grease instead of WD-40. It still clicks weird when I squeeze it, but it holds up for basic jobs now. That said, if yours is bent like a hook, just cut your losses and get a cheap new one. Some tools just ain't worth resurrecting.