Caulking Wood Siding Before Painting

Caulk is a substance designed to seal a joint between two surfaces and to fill small holes.

Caulking wood siding before painting.

Choose the right caulk for the job. These are fine for interior millwork but not the best for exterior jobs. Particularly at the corners where they are mitered together. If you are working on finished wood do not apply caulk until after you ve primed.

Caulk adheres very well to clean bare wood and vinyl. The next place would be the soffits or the plywood underneath. A common mistake is to cut off too much of the caulk tube tip leaving a hole that s way too big for most interior caulking work. Cracks and holes in any surface collect water which causes paint to peel.

However if you re working on certain surfaces the caulk will not stick without a primer base coat. Also avoid caulking tongue and groove siding boards together. Also any butt joints and joints at the peak of diagonal fascia boards. While paint does tend to somewhat glue these pieces together caulking them is never advised and can cause permanent damage.

Caulking tips the time to caulk is after you have cleaned and repaired any damage to the walls and millwork. Unfortunately it will not stick well to stained surfaces. Silicone acrylic latex solvent based elastomeric and butyl rubber to list the most common. Be sure to work with a reputable and professional painting company in your area to complete this project.

Under normal circumstances you can apply caulk before priming. When you re filling small cracks to prepare for painting cut the tip carefully to keep the hole tiny about 1 16 in. Filling cracks and holes with caulk in your home s trim and siding before painting not only makes the paint job look better but also makes the paint last longer. John burbidge author of the book watching paint dry shows how to properly caulk windows doors and cornerboards on the exterior of a house prior to pain.

If you are painting new surfaces prime first then caulk. Water is meant to exit through the bottom of each board. When you take special care with caulking siding before painting you can count on your exterior paint job lasting longer. The tiny hole lets out just enough caulk to fill typical small to medium size cracks.

Hardie plank butt joints and corner trim areas should be caulked to seal up any exposed joints.