# Exterior Stain over white latex caulk



## cardgunner (Feb 29, 2016)

I have been tasked to finish what another painter started, and he started wrong, IMO. The house is to be painted with a BM Arborcoat Solid Stain or similar and the previous painter filled all the seams, nail holes, and joints with white latex caulk. So now when I go to stain over it I "believe" the caulk will still be very visible. It looks like he tried this and stopped when he seen his issue. I'm thinking I have to prime over those with tinted primer and then apply stain?


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## PremierPaintingMa (Nov 30, 2014)

Wow, what I would do 1st is try to take the caulking off where the joint is, no matter what you do there is nothing going to hold the joint. 2nd I will power wash let it dry, 3rd use slow drying penetrating tinted oil primer (look like there is a lot of dead fibers in the wood) also the oil prime will help block the wood from bleeding, 4th use solid stain flat.
Hope this help Dan.


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## PNW Painter (Sep 5, 2013)

Since you’re using a solid stain it should cover all the caulk joints just fine. If you end up using a transparent stain then you’ll be dealing with the same issue.

If the caulk is failing on all the butt joints I’d remove it, otherwise leave it.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## cardgunner (Feb 29, 2016)

PNW Painter said:


> Since you’re using a solid stain it should cover all the caulk joints just fine. If you end up using a transparent stain then you’ll be dealing with the same issue.
> 
> If the caulk is failing on all the butt joints I’d remove it, otherwise leave it.


You are correct! Well at least my BM dealer said the same. Sold stain "should" cover. I may buy a gallon and test before I give final numbers. 

I didn't think it would.


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## PremierPaintingMa (Nov 30, 2014)

cardgunner said:


> You are correct! Well at least my BM dealer said the same. Sold stain "should" cover. I may buy a gallon and test before I give final numbers.
> 
> I didn't think it would.


No oil primer?


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## EveryDay (Mar 23, 2019)

*"Exterior Stain over white latex caulk"*
As others suggested, I would definitely prime them.
Solid stain might cover them initially no problem, but I've seen couple of paint jobs where after few months of weathering the caulk was "showing" and it didn't look nice.
Stain was weathering differently on wood than on bare caulk.


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

re-caulk with colored caulk only "as needed", and leave the rest. 
Then re-stain. maybe you offer the customer a chance to put two coats of stain on. Good for you, and good for the house.


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## cardgunner (Feb 29, 2016)

Yeah, I'm thinking I'm going to no bid this. First there is this issue with caulk, second there is a language barrier. Third they have old Olympic oil stain, semi transparent they want me to use. Fourth, they want the trim to be different color, lighter. They tell me there is no association, but those neighbors are going to be irate, and IMO they should be. It's a town house. One of 5 all joined together.


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## EveryDay (Mar 23, 2019)

cardgunner said:


> Yeah, I'm thinking I'm going to no bid this. First there is this issue with caulk, second there is a language barrier. Third they have old Olympic oil stain, semi transparent they want me to use. Fourth, they want the trim to be different color, lighter. They tell me there is no association, but those neighbors are going to be irate, and IMO they should be. It's a town house. One of 5 all joined together.


Looks like enough red flags to move on.
Vise decision.


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## Redux (Oct 27, 2018)

Snapped the following picture earlier with this thread in mind:

I didn’t stain or paint the exterior pictured but was observing the painters who did do it 4 years ago. 

They filled the fastener holes on the bare cedar facia with acrylic caulk, smoothing it over with a putty knife. Why they did it, I’ll never figure that one out. They then primed it and applied a solid stain top coat. From day one after they finished it I could clearly see the textural differences where the caulk grain-filled the cedar, resulting in a somewhat egregious look. 

Over the past couple of years it got visually worse, only now there is what appears to be a slow controlled, not all that obvious, tannin bleed, only where the wood wasn’t caulked. This resulted in the color differences illustrated in the photo. I suppose it was due to the surface having more moisture hold-out where the caulk was smeared on the board faces. 

The lighter vertical streaks in the photo is where the caulking was applied.


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## EveryDay (Mar 23, 2019)

Alchemy Redux said:


> Snapped the following picture earlier with this thread in mind:
> 
> I didn’t stain or paint the exterior pictured but was observing the painters who did do it 4 years ago.
> 
> ...


Yes, looks absolutely gross.
That's what exactly I was talking in my previous post.
"Dyna Patch" by DYNAMIC is one of the products I like to use for those type of repairs. But it needs to be primed of course.


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## Redux (Oct 27, 2018)

EveryDay said:


> Yes, looks absolutely gross.
> That's what exactly I was talking in my previous post.
> "Dyna Patch" by DYNAMIC is one of the products I like to use for those type of repairs. But it needs to be primed of course.


I actually posted the photo to illustrate and validate your point....sometimes you have to see to believe..and thanks for rotating the photo!


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## cardgunner (Feb 29, 2016)

The owner wants a written refusal. Probably going to use it against the previous painter. It is my opinion that the use of the latex caulk at the end joints between the end joint and the trim is OK. However I would have used colored knowing they wanted it stained with oil semi transparent stain. As far as the butt joints and nail holes, i would not have bothered with filling those at ALL. To me there is no sense in filling them. Is my opinion sound on both accounts? 

On a side note how would you fill surface imperfections, such a woodpecker holes, knowing you are going to use oil semi transparent stain?


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

cardgunner said:


> The owner wants a written refusal. Probably going to use it against the previous painter. It is my opinion that the use of the latex caulk at the end joints between the end joint and the trim is OK. However I would have used colored knowing they wanted it stained with oil semi transparent stain. As far as the butt joints and nail holes, i would not have bothered with filling those at ALL. To me there is no sense in filling them. Is my opinion sound on both accounts?
> 
> On a side note how would you fill surface imperfections, such a woodpecker holes, knowing you are going to use oil semi transparent stain?


As others have noted, I believe trying to use a semi-transparent is out at this point. It just won’t hide the caulk and trying to remove it would be a nightmare. Solid should hide the whiteness but likely not the texture differences which may show up as a sheen issue - especially when viewed from the side or from sunlight at certain times of the day.


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## cardgunner (Feb 29, 2016)

RH said:


> As others have noted, I believe trying to use a semi-transparent is out at this point. It just won’t hide the caulk and trying to remove it would be a nightmare. Solid should hide the whiteness but likely not the texture differences which may show up as a sheen issue - especially when viewed from the side or from sunlight at certain times of the day.


Understood. If I was the first painter i would have just caulked the end joints, where it meets the trim, and I would have caulked it with colored to match caulk. I would not have caulked the butt joints or the nail holes. Is that what you would have done?


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## EveryDay (Mar 23, 2019)

cardgunner said:


> Understood. If I was the first painter i would have just caulked the end joints, where it meets the trim, and I would have caulked it with colored to match caulk. *I would not have caulked the butt joints or the nail holes.* Is that what you would have done?


Practically if one insist they can be caulked but caulk must be very well wiped off with damp rag so not to leave a 'film' on surrounding areas on the wood.


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## Alltime (Sep 28, 2013)

Another idea.. sometimes I will run into similar problems, and instead of risky solutions, moving ahead without being completely sure, or walking away, I'll give the customer options. The caulk was applied mistakenly for the finish used, but it will keep water out. A smart customer will heed professional advice. You could suggest a primer coat and a solid paint color, lots of woody colors out there and no association. You'll get a job and will be confident it will last!


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