- Prep the area by cleaning it with mild detergent to remove dirt, debris, grease, or mildew.
- Score the caulk using a utility knife or razor blade along the edges of the caulk lines, both horizontally and vertically.
- Apply heat (optional) using a caulk removal tool.
- Scrape residue with a ripping chisel if the area is too dirty.
- Apply caulking in dry and warm weather. Caulking can take time to dry and cure, sometimes 24 hours or more. To ensure proper drying, the environment must be dry.
If you want to clean the existing caulk, try using the Heavy Duty Mr. Clean Magic Eraser or cover it with a new layer that can be easily cleaned.
To clean caulk residue, use vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda as non-toxic cleaning agents. The most commonly used formula is bleach, which can be used with one gallon of water, 1/3 cup of bleach, and one teaspoon of POWDERED original tide.
Military oil/baby oil can also soften latex caulks by making it easier to scrape away. Dish soap in warm water can clean putty surroundings with some scrubbing.
If vinegar doesn’t work, use hydrogen peroxide. The best solution is 409 cleaner, which can be applied to the caulking with an old toothbrush.
Clean up the area with a quick wipe with a wet towel, as the job only took half the time since no need to remove the old caulk.
📹 How To Remove Exterior Caulking 15X Faster Than Normal!
Removing exterior caulking can be a terrible job. This video will help you get the job done a lot faster! Cheap Multitool(Oscillating): …
📹 How to Remove and Replace Old Exterior Caulking | RONA
Watch our video to remove and replace old caulking to better protect your home and enhance its look! Follow the steps: …
The multi tool is absolutely the best way to do this. The time savings alone makes going out and purchasing a multi tool cost effective plus the chance of multiple tool marks on the wood trying to scrape and cut the caulk out is high. And once the tool is purchased the homeowner can learn how to use it to make their own sheet rock repairs and save a ton of money down the line when they need to enter a wall.
Before you apply the new caulk check that the boards are nailed in tight. Basically push on the trim board and if it moves in a little bit then it needs renailed. Take a finish nail or smooth box nail and cut the head off of it with some snips and chuck it into your drill. Use this as a drill bit it will make the perfect hole for the nails it will keep it from splitting and from taking the wrong path. This technique works if you have to nail some hardwood also like oak or something when you don’t have a nail gun.
I have been a waterproofer for 31 years. Removing failed sealants was always a pain in the azz. The oscillating tools work great. Forget the expensive scraper blade. Dull woof cutting blades work great and wont dig into the wood or other materials as easily as sharp one. The key to this is the vibration not the sharpness. Wal mart sells Hyper Tough blades for about 5 dollars. After use for cutting trim etc and they are dulled down they work great for sealant removal. I will never do that job again without an oscillating tool. I have listened to the Funny Carpenter for a couple of years. If you are a homeowner or a novice, he wont steer you down the wrong path. Other professionals may have ways that work better for them due to other experiences. But for a DIYer his explanations work.
Gee whizz thank goodness for p.p.e huh that was closer than close 😳 About to get the M12 and blade kit, cus I’m uk and using the link I’m wondering if you still get the kudos for the purchase, hoping so! You’ve game changed loads of things for me….. even door hinge problems….. brilliant vids thanks!
This is brilliant. I’ve been having to recaulk every window in this house we bought and fighting with a putty and utility knife. Only recently acquired the oscillating multitool and didn’t even know the scraper blades existed. Will be a game changer for the rest of the windows and, I’m sure, will help getting flooring adhesive residue off the slab, too!
A little pro tip. After you get the majority of the caulk removed use a wire brush on a drill in this case being wood on wood joints you probably want to try a nelon wire wheel first but as long as your planning to paint. Been doing this for a while and works great to get down to bare substrate. Good article overall
One small caveat with the multitool is that people on the inside are going to hear the vibration as noise, a lot more noise than scraping would make. Especially if they are doing a zoom call or office work. I ran into that at work when cutting single-gang holes in walls. Office workers were not at all happy with the loud BZZZZZZZZT sound of the multitool which vibrated the walls and seemed to fill the office, but were fine with a manual drywall saw.
I am a home improvement contractor and he uses very similar technique as me it’s a good tutorial. One thing I found that works well for scraping the caulking off is a sharp chisel, something about a half inch or so wide is pretty good. Put the bevel of the chisel tip against the wood. You do have to be careful and use good technique or you’ll gouge to the wood. Done correctly it will really shave that stuff off. It’s best if the chisel is basically like new where hasn’t been abused. Another thing I have found that softens up the caulking and makes it easier to remove is get a rag wet with acetone and wipe the caulking with that it will soften it up and make it easier to remove. For removing the small bits after scraping and cutting you can take a furniture stripping pad and get it wet with acetone and scrub it it will take that stuff right off. Then finish out with rag dampened with the acetone. Having it cleaned with acetone will also make the new caulking stick really well. It is very important to remove the old caulking, if you don’t get it all off it will hurt the performance of the caulking and it will not look as good either. Another thing I found that works well for getting the caulking out after cutting it, is use a hook blade. It will grab that stuff and pull it out but again be careful with your technique not to cause damage. I’ve had good luck using this for getting silicone caulking from around the bathtub and tile wall.
My wife, and I are replacing the closet doorway trim in our MBR so I just got done pulling caulking off of that, chair rail, and baseboard. (The new trim was wider than the old stuff so I have to cut all of it down to fit.) I found it very difficult because it had been painted with several layers, and I couldn’t find where the joint actually was. As a result I ended up cutting into the drywall paper a bit, and now have to prime those areas before putting them back on the walls. This whole job has been one headache after another because this is the first time I’ve ever done it. One thing I will say is those trim head screws are a complete game changer even though their heads are much bigger than nails. I even managed to screw up and cut one of the miters in the wrong direction so now I have to go get another piece, but it will work out because I cut the top too damn short too, LOL. On the bright side I’ve learned enough to know I’ll be using paint stripper for the other two entryways because both of them are within inches of an inside corner wall, and I’m not even remotely interested in trying to deal with that nightmare. Thank you for all of your articles. I’ll be using your calking tips to do all that once I’m ready for it!
I’m learning SO MUCH from articles like this . . . I’m so excited – I am going to get a large tattoo that says “I love Oscillating Scraper Tools for Adhesive Removal” . . . and then I’m going to name my next child “Oscillating Scraper Tool for Adhesive Removal Winsor” . . . um . . . okay, maybe that’s taking the home improvement thing a little bit too far (ha) . . . thanks for the articles!!!
You are great. Thanks for the articles. I am working on repainting an exterior facing door. Had 4 layers of paint in it. Used paint remover and scraping with plastic tools and brushed with steel brush. Still see something that looks like caulking on the panels. Is that what it is? Should I try to remove it all and reapply before primer? We moved into this house last year and there are 65 years of living in it… it is from 1957 (east coast Florida) with some DIY that was a bit ..less detailed than desirable.
Will the MultiTool work for removing silicone caulk around outside windows? I have never seen the tool. I love it. It would make my job a lot easier and faster! If the tool will work to remove old silicone caulk around windows, I won’t mess with a box knife or scrapper. Thank you in advance for answering my question.
With the type of old caulk I had on my eaves I just used a heavy triangle scraper to scrape off the moldy caulk but left the caulk that was in the seams that was still good. Then I just primed and painted without having to recaulk. The final result was much better than if I removed all of the caulk and recaulked it because I ended up with very clean tight corners.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 KJV Bible Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV Bible For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Romans 10:9-13 KJV Bible That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. John 3:16 KJV Bible For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 14:6 KJV Bible Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Having the same multi-tool, that’s the blade I keep forgetting to buy. Thanks for the reminder. I’m at Home Depot at least twice a week too. Haha! My favorite blade tho’ when cutting drywall to fix large holes is Milwaukee’s 5-in-1, Model 49-25-2281. It’s curved at the top for plunging, has side shavers and a small jab saw on the side. 😎👍🏼🦾