# Accidently used non-paintable caulk on trim



## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

All of it needs to come off.
New caulk will not stick to old caulking.
No sure how you could have done all that caulking done the right way and not know there was something wrong when you tried to clean it up with water.
There should be 0 caulking on the walls of face of the trim, only need enough to fill the gaps.
Rule #1, always read the label.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

What was it you used? Silicone?


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## Robert95z (Jun 11, 2012)

chandler48 said:


> What was it you used? Silicone?


Must have been, cant remember what, but it must have been a white silicone.


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## CodeMatters (Aug 16, 2017)

I've put paintable caulk over silicone and it worked fine.


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## XSleeper (Sep 23, 2007)

Jeez, what a mess.

You can prime it with B-I-N pigmented shellac. Might take 2 coats but it will cover. Then paint it. Hope this taught you a lesson you won't forget.


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## Robert95z (Jun 11, 2012)

Its really not that bad. I used it around 2 rooms for baseboards, that I dont need to paint or mess with. I used it around 3 interior door trims. Not so much the outside trim needs to be touched, its just the silicone thats filling the gap of the trim and the door reveal. Thats the part the needs to be fixed. Were not talking a whole house.


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## Jmayspaint (May 4, 2013)

You can caulk over it with paintable as long as the new bead can bond to the surface on either side of the old bead. The new bead will form a shell over the old allowing you to paint it. 
I’ve done this a few times over the years when it wasn’t in the budget to remove the bad caulk. It’s not ideal by any stretch, but can work. 


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## Jmayspaint (May 4, 2013)

XSleeper said:


> Jeez, what a mess.
> 
> You can prime it with B-I-N pigmented shellac. Might take 2 coats but it will cover. Then paint it. Hope this taught you a lesson you won't forget.




This can work too. The Bin dries so fast it’ll form a film over the unpaintable caulking before it has time to separate. The Bin doesn’t actually bond to the silicone though, and can easily flake off. 
The caulk in my method doesn’t bond to it either, but IMO it’s a little more stable than a paint film alone. 


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## woodco (Jun 11, 2017)

Yeah, I usually just smear new caulk on top of it, or spray some coverstain or kilz, even though, technically it isnt adhered well. I havent tested this, but there are some hardcore paintable caulks out there that stick to damn near anything, and they MIGHT stick to the silicone, but they arent fun to work with, and you need mineral spirits to smooth or clean them. One such product is called Lexel. http://www.sashco.com/products/lexel/


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

As already mentioned, nothing actually will stick to silicon, so your best off removing it.


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