Big Stretch caulk on drywall?

15 years ago

Before I paint the interior of a linen closet, I need to caulk some cracks where the walls meet. I think the guy at the paint store heard my request for caulk that is flexible and paintable, but may have ignored that it is an interior closet.

He sold me Big Stretch Caulk & Seal by Sashco. It will fill gaps up to 2" wide (mine are about 1/8"). It is interior/exterior and paintable. However, it boasts superior adhesion to wood, siding, vinyl, fiber cement, concrete, metal and glass. It doesn't mention drywall/sheetrock. One week drying time is required before applying oil based paint (I'm going to use original Kilz primer).

I probably don't need a product this high performance, but that's fine, unless it's not suitable for my application. My walls are drywall or sheetrock. When I removed some wallpaper (not in this project), it damaged it and exposed what locked like cardboard.

Will a caulk intended for windows, doors and siding be okay to use on drywall? The paint store is closed, and I wanted to caulk this weekend. Thanks for any guidance you can offer.

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quandary
Original Author

15 years ago

You guys are waaaay more knowledgeable than any of the store employees who've helped me. Today, I went to Ace Hardware, and after explaining my needs, the guy handed me a tube of cove molding adhesive saying that it would be perfect.

Instead, I bought DAP Alex Painter's Acrylic Latex Caulk. I looked at an acrylic latex with silicone, but chickened out because it didn't specifically mention what it would adhere to (i.e. drywall). I asked the salesman to help me choose between those two, and he recommended the cove molding adhesive.

I honestly don't mind another trip, because I don't ever plan to repaint this closet. I've pulled out the pine shelving, stripped it, stained it and applied 3 coats of spar urethane. I want to do a good job of painting it before I put the shelves back in.

Would you recommend the acrylic latex caulk with silicone, painter's acrylic latex caulk or Big Stretch? I definitely want to use the Big Stretch for brick/wood caulking when we paint the outside of the house, but will it adhere to drywall (the label doesn't list it)?

Thanks so much for your advice and patience. I just want to do the best job I can on this project.

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Comments (7)

fnmroberts
15 years ago
Make certain to use a paintable caulk. It will tell you in the printing on the tube. Generally if what you have is paintable it will say that rather predominately. Do not use 100% silicone as paint will not adhere.

If you have a home center nearby, they will sell a caulk used by painters which is fast drying too. A 1/8" crack may require 2 fillings. Apply a coat and smooth, allow to cure. The fast drying only takes about an hour, regular caulk may take 24. Check the fill after it has cured and, if necessary, apply a second. When it is cured, prime and paint. Good luck.
quandary
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you! Your suggestion sounds like a better alternative than what I purchased.
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Thanks. I did post over on the Paint forum but it's very slow over there and people here seem to have a broad range of knowledge so thought I'd ask. It appears the original builder's paint was not put on primed drywall. It's 40 years old now and had some flaking problems recent years. The whole thing was scraped, patched where necessary, and Gardz'd over to try to lock everything down. This wall should have had Gardz and then one paint of white was put on it. I didn't see what caulk the carpenter used. Caulk wasn't in the bid but he did a little of it anyway. This seems to be the only wall doing this at this point. I thought maybe he might have used too much water when wiping, too, which got to the lower layer. It's kind of bubbled looking. I just did a little upstairs with DAP Alex Plus 35 year but was just reading here that this is considered a cheap caulk. DAP and Red Devil Painter's caulk is on hand but I'm going to switch from big box products to BM Moorlastic 464. DAP Dynaflex 230 is supposed to be particularly good, too, and I think comparable to the Moorlastic. It's one thing for the caulk to pull away, which is common, and you re-caulk. But it will be a real problem if the paint comes off the walls in the process as it's doing there. I will definitely be using Aura paint now, so touchups won't be an issue. The area above the baseboards would need to be scraped down, filled, and re-painted.
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@DavidR - not "irresponsible", most likely correct, we are 3rd owners and bought the home when it was ~12 years old. . .the wainscoting looks very good with the Stickley cherry set, we're "updating". . . The baseboard is 2 1/4 inch hemlock, it looks shorter because of camera angle, this photo is in another room where we've used it. We had drywall repair/texturing done after pulling wallpaper and wainscoting in nook (and kitchen), unfortunately drywall/texturing/etc. is not our bailiwick. Husband is most concerned about nailing into drywall to hold curved wood to wall, I would assume glue would help. A thin piece of shimmed wood between molding and drywall also? Thanks again everyone for your comments! Even if we don't apply it here, ideas and information are part of the educational process.
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sierraeast
15 years ago
Might have ignored that it was for a closet or simply sold you a high dollar caulk that you dont need! I've always had good luck with dap alex plus that is latex with silicone and is paintable.
sierraeast
15 years ago
The dap will shrink and as fnmrroberts mentioned, you will probably need two applications.
sombreuil_mongrel
15 years ago
Big Stretch is like Alex Plus in all respects, except it has less water/more solids. Therefore, it shrinks less than Alex.
I never used a better paintable caulk between masonry and wood. For corner cracks it may be overkill, but seeing as how you already have it, you may as well use it to save a drive back to the store.
Casey
Faron79
15 years ago
Big Stretch will do great on the Exterior...it's fine (but overkill) on an interior corner-crack.

An interesting application for cove-molding adhesive!! I s'pose the reasoning MAY have been that it would help hold a crack in place, instead of flexing like caulk.
hmmmm....

Any of your caulk-choices will do fine in the closet.

Faron

Big Stretch caulk on drywall?

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Big Stretch caulk on drywall?

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