# Paint over silicone caulk and Benjamin Moore advance



## tomormatt (Jun 16, 2014)

Windows were recently replaced. Installers used silicone caulk that is not paintable. Trim recently painted by home owner with Benjamin Moore Advance, but color does not match vinyl in the new windows so need to repaint trim.

Planning on using Advance again, but plan on priming. I typically use 123 for priming, but wondering if another primer that is for trickier surfaces is warranted. Bigger issue is the caulk. Removing the newly installed caulk is out of the question (home owner is unwilling to incur cost for this). I have indicated that anything short of that has a higher chance of failing, but HO is willing to take the risk.

I am planning on putting a paintable caulk over the silicone caulk, but worry about the new caulk adhering to the existing caulk. Thought about using drywall mud or wood putty also. Would prefer to do it right and pull it all out, but open to all other suggestions.


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## tomormatt (Jun 16, 2014)

Windows were recently replaced. Installers used silicone caulk that is not paintable. Trim recently painted by home owner with Benjamin Moore Advance, but color does not match vinyl in the new windows so need to repaint trim.

Planning on using Advance again, but plan on priming. I typically use 123 for priming, but wondering if another primer that is for trickier surfaces is warranted. Bigger issue is the caulk. Removing the newly installed caulk is out of the question (home owner is unwilling to incur cost for this). I have indicated that anything short of that has a higher chance of failing, but HO is willing to take the risk.

I am planning on putting a paintable caulk over the silicone caulk, but worry about the new caulk adhering to the existing caulk. Thought about using drywall mud or wood putty also. Would prefer to do it right and pull it all out, but open to all other suggestions.


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## Wildbill7145 (Apr 30, 2014)

Nothing sticks to silicone reliably. Even silicone won't stick to cured silicone.


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## jr.sr. painting (Dec 6, 2013)

Just coverstain it and apply the finish paint. If the customer just wants it painted that's all you have to do. 


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

If you can run your new bead of caulk to where it adheres to either side of the existing silicone one, it’ll have a better chance of lasting a while. 

It won’t stick to the silicone of course, but it can stick to what’s on either side of it and “float” over the actual silicone. 

I don’t think drywall mud or wood filler is a good idea. Seems like it would fail faster and just flake off. A large bead of quality caulk, bonded on either side, has a better chance of holding together. 

I’ve done this several times over the years in situations like yours. One potential problem is window installers aren’t known for running tight beads of caulk so you could have silicone smeared way out on the wall, making this technique harder in practice. 

It’s also possible to paint silicone with shellac. It won’t stick to the silicone, but it dries so fast you can get it to form a film over it before it has time to separate. It’ll eventually flake off, but you can make it look painted for a while that way. Somebody mentioned Coverstain, it dries real fast as well. Could probably do the same trick with it. 


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## tomormatt (Jun 16, 2014)

Thanks for the input. As indicated, I have found the window installers somehow got caulk smeared all over the trim. Cannot see some of it, but is obvious once the paint is applied as it looks like oil and water.

Going to suggest to HO that we do this right once again. If I cannot get him to bite I will sand the areas where the caulk is smeared, run a bead of paintable caulk over the rest of the caulk and do best I can.

Thanks for input.


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

INSX Stix Primer may do the trick.That stuff sticks to everything and is much more flexible than Shellac. Or a bead of premium paintable caulk like Flex 9000. 

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## tomormatt (Jun 16, 2014)

*Follow Up*

Short follow up for future painters who encounter this situation. Key learnings are:

1. Window installers sometimes suck - process would have been difficult, but much less so if the caulk was not smeared in adjacent areas of the trim. Lots of places where no caulk was needed or visible had enough smeared that it prevented paint from adhering.

2. I primed one window with Inslx - Aqualock to see if it would adhere enough to work. I would have used Stix (as noted above), but already had a gallon of Aqualock in my supplies. It worked okay in some areas, but not all. I do not think any primer exists that is going to do very well.

3. Caulk - I was able to get some paintable caulk (I used DAP Dynaflex 230) to adhere to most of the existing caulk. If the window installers had not smeared their caulk this approach would have been more effective.

Net / net is there are no great solutions other than removing the existing caulk. I have read some have used heat gun or hair dryer in an attempt to get the paint / primer to adhere, but I believe none of the solutions someone might try are going to be good in the long-term. I considered passing on the job as I do not want to attach my name to something that does not have the quality I expect. That said, the HO is happy with the outcome as is and I have been explicit regarding potential issues that might arise in the future.

Moral of the story is make sure paintable caulk is specified when ordering windows.


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

I've used BIN pigmented shellac out of a spray can to address silicone problems on the fly. The first light pass seems to take the initial brunt of surface tension and tends to bite, followed by a second pass. Good luck getting non painters to use the appropriate caulk. Unfortunately, they're programed not to care about painting.


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## Lightningboy65 (Mar 12, 2018)

The big problem is anybody stupid enough to use pure unpaintable silicone is more than likely to be unable to run a nice bead of caulk!

I'll bet dollars to donuts those same window installers would use paintable 100%silicone free caulk if they were installing a shower or in other applications where 100 % silicone should be used.


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## jacob33 (Jun 2, 2009)

Sad truth is there are caulkings just as durable if not more than silicone that could have been used that are will hold paint. Luckily in my area most window installers use Solar Seal which I think is far tougher than silicone and is paintable.


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## jennifertemple (Oct 30, 2011)

Solar Seal is not available in Canada but we do have Canexel Siding Sealant Caulk that is excellent for the purpose or a variety of Mono that is a third the price of Canexel.


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## akrause (May 18, 2010)

XIM UMA is by far the best over the counter modified acrylic primer I've found. I'm not wild about the idea of skimming mud over it though - I feel like that would crack.
(friggin window guys...lol.) Why do they do that crap? Counter top guys get us with the same crap all the time. Do they even know there is such a thing as paintable silicone?

Best of luck


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