# Caulking what do you prefer????



## Steve618

Hi everyone I'm new here sorry if this has been asked. I've always liked the sherwin Williams power house 60 yr. But latley it's been giving me trouble with stretching and cracking so I'm just wondering what everyones using.


----------



## straight_lines

Moorlastic Lifetime Acrylic Urethane Sealant 465


----------



## pinchegordo

Dap Alex green tube no silicone for interior. Always use some sort of elastomeric caulk on exterior


----------



## JoseyWales

Dap Alex Plus

Never had a complaint,but I have to admit that I don't go back every few years to see if the caulking is holding out.


----------



## bwpainting

PPG Top Gun 400 Kevlar lifetime


----------



## Ole34

DAP Alex plus for general caulking .........if its gonna split its gonna split ..........i dont fight that fight anymore


----------



## LA Painter

SW 950A. 

Waaaaay better than Alex+


----------



## Bender

LA Painter said:


> SW 950A.
> 
> Waaaaay better than Alex+


I agree. I had waaaay too many tubes of alex+ with air trapped in them. Damn things would sit and ooze forever


----------



## TJ Paint

urethane fortified for exterior , like moorlastic

inside, good quality acrylic

that dap stuff isn't that great, they do make other decent products though, kinda weird their caulk isn't better.


----------



## ttd

Magnum XL Duron/SW


----------



## straight_lines

I should have specified as well. Interiors trim gets big stretch by sashco.


----------



## Sully

SW 950A is my fav hands down the only other I'll consider is Alex+


----------



## Bender

straight_lines said:


> I should have specified as well. Interiors trim gets big stretch by sashco.


Damn! What are you painting? Draw bridges?


----------



## straight_lines

LOL. 

My crown doesn't have cracks from truss lift though.


----------



## Workaholic

Big stretch is special order for me. I use a 55yr elastomeric from ici.


----------



## ewingpainting.net

Siliconized acrylic latex caulk 35 year for interior. Exterior is a urethane elastomeric 55 year caulk.


----------



## 6126

SW Shermax when I can wait the 24 hrs it needs to dry. Very good stuff, but dries incredibly slow. Other wise 950.


----------



## Ultimate

straight_lines said:


> I should have specified as well. Interiors trim gets big stretch by sashco.


If that is real then I am sold.


----------



## deluxe

Tower Tech2 . Great stuff , beats all B.M SW or any Dap any day. Not cheap though :thumbsup: www.towersealants.com/products.php


----------



## plainpainter

All a bunch of amateurs here.....GE Silicone II paintable version. Everything else is a joke.


----------



## Ole34

plainpainter said:


> All a bunch of amateurs here.....GE Silicone II paintable version. Everything else is a joke.


 
your the amateur if you think caulk really matters............only small percentage of joints actually require anything half way decent ..............re-paints that is 



are you the guy that uses $5 a tube caulk underneath closet shelving ???


----------



## Steve618

Thanks Everyone for chiming in this site is cool and I'm glad I joined up. Good advice here not a big fan of the Alexs though but good to see what everyones using


----------



## ewingpainting.net

ewingpainting.net said:


> Siliconized acrylic latex caulk 35 year for interior. Exterior is a urethane elastomeric 55 year caulk.


I buy the Vista Paint caulking



plainpainter said:


> All a bunch of amateurs here.....GE Silicone II paintable version. Everything else is a joke.


GE manufactures caulking and other sealants for other paint manufacture. The caulking is labeled with the paint manufactures label. Which is Vista's caulk. At one time most paint manufactures were getting their caulk from the same caulk manufacture. The joke is you think your buying a better or worse product, because of it's label, but they could be the same product. I remember talking with a feller, he was selling/bragging about his caulk to me, I showed him that the caulk I buy/use was exactly the caulk he sells. :jester: its all on the back of the tube. It even has the caulk manufacture phone # to request MSDS.


----------



## TJ Paint

My caulk is the best...:whistling2:


----------



## pinchegordo

TJ Paint said:


> My caulk is the best...:whistling2:


Ya but it's such a small tube...... Hahahaha. Sorry couldn't resist


----------



## TJ Paint

pinchegordo said:


> Ya but it's such a small tube...... Hahahaha. Sorry couldn't resist


Its all in the motion of the bead, not the size of the cartridge...


----------



## straight_lines

FatherandSonPainting said:


> If that is real then I am sold.


The Custom Colors store in Castle Hayne had a demo similar to that.


----------



## TJ Paint

Once in awhile I'll compromise quality for fast dry times and use the 30 min dry stuff.

Just depends


----------



## Ole34

got a few tubes of SW 850 and 950 today........i liked them both........couldnt get the stuff of my hands .........thats a good thing


----------



## Ole34

up in boston, caulk is pronounced ''cock'' ...........just sayin


----------



## plainpainter

Ole34 said:


> up in boston, caulk is pronounced ''cock'' ...........just sayin


Is it pronounced any other way?


----------



## Ole34

plainpainter said:


> Is it pronounced any other way?


 
yes, its pronounced ''caulk'' [kawk]


----------



## Ole34

plainpainter said:


> Is it pronounced any other way?


 

lol 



http://youtu.be/HteJ3MoDQNA


----------



## Mike's QP

Ole34 said:


> yes, its pronounced ''caulk'' [kawk]


 I love the way that rolls off your tongue:jester:


----------



## TJ Paint

Ole34 said:


> got a few tubes of SW 850 and 950 today........i liked them both........couldnt get the stuff of my hands .........thats a good thing


I have that trouble with peanut butter too, and thats not so good...

I thought caulk was pronounced {coawk}


----------



## venetian designs

Just tried Tower Tech 2, amazing stuff.


----------



## Mantis

there is a morning show i listen to every day on the way to work. they have their producer do these random "stunts". one week, they had him go into home depot and ask for some caulk, only when he pronounces it, he leaves off the "L" sound. "What's the proper way to squeeze my 'caulk'?" etc. hilarious! 





for what it's worth, we used to primarily use SW 950A on just about everything. We have since switched to a 55 year caulk from a local paint store, O'Leary Paints, which is just lovely at $1.80/tube. I'll find out who manufacturers it for them as it's probably just a rebranded something-or-other.


----------



## paratrooper

I'm glad that someone else had problems with air bubbles in their Alex Plus. 2/3's of the tube would act squirrely, a big air bubble would push through, then the remaining 1/3 would act normal.


----------



## HeadHoncho

NR4000 from Sherwin Williams is pretty good stuff!


----------



## Mantis

HeadHoncho said:


> NR4000 from Sherwin Williams is pretty good stuff!


"specially formulated for new residential painting contractors!" wow. i feel honored that something was formulated specifically for me. does that mean its only good for "new" and "residential" projects? if i use it on a commercial refit will it fail?


----------



## chrisn

Mantis said:


> "specially formulated for new residential painting contractors!" wow. i feel honored that something was formulated specifically for me. does that mean its only good for "new" and "residential" projects? if i use it on a commercial refit will it fail?


 
you can count on it, it probably would not even come out of the tube


----------



## Sully

Ole34 said:


> up in boston, caulk is pronounced ''cock'' ...........just sayin


I used to love it when the girls on the job would ask me for my caulk. I used to smile and say meet me in the van at lunch time. They loved it. :jester:


----------



## Gotdibz

I used to use allot alex+, I use it occasionally. I've been using the white lightning bolt quick dry. I like the others mentioned and plan to try some.


----------



## 6126

I'm using Tower Tech 2  :thumbsup: Best caulking I've ever used :thumbsup:


----------



## more_prep

Never seen an exterior caulk that didn't fail. Tried many, mostly polyurethanes, like SikaFlex, PL, Umasco, OSI Quad, and similar. Solvent-based for clears. I like Geocel clear and a DAP clear that comes in a green/gold tube.

For interior I like DAP Moulding and Trim (quick dry, no flashing) and Phenoseal. Had trouble with BM Moorlastic. Nice and stretchy, but had some paint crackling issues over it, even after a couple days' dry time. Alex Plus is the standard around here, which is ok most of the time, but I've seen it fail on joints that opened up in the winter.

I try to look for something that meets ASTM C-925, which tests adhesion, stretch, etc.


----------



## Bender

Last night I tried to tease her
I gave my love a little pinch
she said now stop that jivin'...


----------



## KD PAINTING

SW 950A works great for me.


----------



## David's Painting

Recently SW had PowerHouse on sale. I bought a case and have been happy with it on my interior trim.


----------



## Rbriggs82

KD PAINTING said:


> SW 950A works great for me.


Yup that's pretty much all I use.


----------



## Workaholic

After all the years of reflection I have changed my answer. 

I prefer to have an employee do it.


----------



## Jasonthep8nter

Rbriggs82 said:


> Yup that's pretty much all I use.


Sw 950a can't go wrong, also km45 is great to


----------



## RH

I like the _Tower Tech 2_ also.


----------



## spencer

Glad someone started this thread. I've got a lot of caulking to do. My yard stocks the Dap Alex Flex Trim caulk but I decided to have my wife stop by SW and get the 950A.

My yard sells the Alex Flex, anyone have problems with it? This might even be a newer version...


----------



## TJ Paint

spencer said:


> Glad someone started this thread. I've got a lot of caulking to do. My yard stocks the Dap Alex Flex Trim caulk but I decided to have my wife stop by SW and get the 950A.
> 
> My yard sells the Alex Flex, anyone have problems with it? This might even be a newer version...


Daps kinda crappy.


----------



## mudbone

spencer said:


> Glad someone started this thread. I've got a lot of caulking to do. My yard stocks the Dap Alex Flex Trim caulk but I decided to have my wife stop by SW and get the 950A.
> 
> My yard sells the Alex Flex, anyone have problems with it? This might even be a newer version...


Need to throw it out in the back yard!


----------



## mudbone

Woodland said:


> I'm using Tower Tech 2  :thumbsup: Best caulking I've ever used :thumbsup:


That's a bit of a stretch!:blink:


----------



## spencer

> Daps kinda crappy.





> Need to throw it out in the back yard!


I was talking to the guy behind the counter. He said it was a new product. Said the other DAP was crap and would definitely crack. Then proceeded to tell me I should try this stuff out. No thanks. I have to go to the next town to get SW but I think it was a good move.


----------



## benthepainter

Ole34 said:


> DAP Alex plus for general caulking .........if its gonna split its gonna split ..........i dont fight that fight anymore


Gday Ole

Im the same if the movement in the surface is that strong nothing will hold & i make that clear in my quotation

But what i use for General Caulking 
And am happy with is the Polyfilla S20


----------



## Ray Heck

Tower Tech2 is the best...no crack, great flexibility and paintability


----------



## rwransom

Woodland said:


> SW Shermax when I can wait the 24 hrs it needs to dry. Very good stuff, but dries incredibly slow. Other wise 950.


Agreed!


----------



## RH

Once again, Tower Tech 2.


----------



## ReNt A PaInTeR

+1 on the SherMax


----------



## RH

ReNt A PaInTeR said:


> +1 on the SherMax


Pffftt... I'd likely only need six tubes of Tower Tech get the same results. :whistling2:


----------



## pinchegordo

Green label dap acrylic only no silicone


----------



## mudbone

Ray Heck said:


> Tower Tech2 is the best...no crack, great flexibility and paintability


What the Heck!:whistling2:


----------



## mudbone

Sher-max is all its cracked up to be!


----------



## ridesarize

plainpainter said:


> All a bunch of amateurs here.....GE Silicone II paintable version. Everything else is a joke.


Ha Ha


----------



## HQP2005

Phenoseal :thumbsup: ??? Anyone else??


----------

