Recaulking Bathtub

W. Grababrewski · Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 8

Just visited a new customer, they have a tub that was refinished some 25 years ago, and it still looks like new except the caulking. It appears to have a bottom layer of acrylic and a second layer of clear silicone and if you can believe it a coating of white typing correction fluid. She tried to hide the yellowing of the caulk. Now she wants it all removed and replaced with new. Usually I use a very small wood chisel and a single edge razor blade to remove the old caulking, but with it being refinished I'm concerned about damaging the finish. Any suggestions?

jholmes · Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 80 Location: Eagan, MN

Couple of questions...

What kind of tub is it...fiberglass or cast iron?
If it is cast iron, is the porcelain in good condition or has it been refinished?
What type of surround is it...fiberglass, ceramic or marble tile, etc?

If you have a picture of it, post it on here.
JH Very Happy

jholmes · Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 80 Location: Eagan, MN

OK...after reading your post carefully, it appears that it's a cast iron tub that has it's porcelain refinished with an acrylic urethane enamel.

And your right, I would be afraid about damaging this new coating. IMO this is the equivalent of trying to scrape caulk off a auto finish...you certainly need to take care.

Well...sharp metal objects are out of the question!
And a caulk removal compound wont work through the silicon to soften up the acrylic latex, and I have generally found it to suck anyway!

I have never had to do this, but I would tackle it with a heat gun, a sharp plastic putty knife, and some denatured alcohol. Use a heat gun with a very low (300F or less) setting to soften up the old caulk. If you can't set it this low then use a hair dryer, otherwise you risk damaging the new tub coating. Scrape the old caulk out with the plastic scraper/knife, then use denatured alcohol to clean up any remaining caulk or caulk residue.

FIY, silicone or siliconized caulk is not effected by heat too much. You may have to scrape this first layer out to expose the acrylic, and then use the heat gun to soften the acrylic up. You will be superised how well heat works on acrylic latex caulk. I just repainted my garage this summer and used a heat gun on some old,tuff, hard caulk...works like a charm!

W. Grababrewski · Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 8

JH,

Thank you for your reply, This is going to be a tough one. It's a shame
too, for a tub that was refinished 25 + years ago it really looks nice, I
guess maybe they being an older couple the tub doesnt get as abused as others. I'm under the impression that refinishing is good for about 5 years or so, I was really surprised with it's age. She really made a mess of things with the white correction fluid.

I'm really going to have to think about this one before I decide to tackle it. One thought I had was to carfully remove what I can, re-seal it then apply some type of plastic trim to make it pretty.

Thanks again.

jholmes · Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 80 Location: Eagan, MN

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