Folks, I have zero experience using a chisel. Yet, I have a need to remove a bunch of acrylic caulking from around a bedroom window that was applied by the original builder (builder’s sub) and covered up by the paint crew that repainted my home a couple of years ago.
The caulk has failed, allow water at the brick-wood interface to capillary its way into and behind the brick facade, which in turn has been running down said brick onto the lintel and is the third and final source of water infiltration into the bay window area of my wife’s study. Water-tension is a b!tch. 🙂
Yes, I chronicled all of this water infiltration problems in three other threads over the past three years, and even posted 2-3 times in the Help Wanted section (to no affect). I think I need to remove this acrylic caulking and replace it with an elastomer caulking that will not get hard and brittle.
The water capillary action was finally observed in three places just under the window sill where I opened up the wall just beneath the window. Its above the framed opening in the thin gap between the framed opening and the window itself. There is a trim board that mates the window to the brick facade, and the caulking on the trim-brick is my problem.
I do not wish to damage the brick nor ruin the trim board. Thus, looking for pointers on best tool(s) for the job in removing the acrylic caulking, cleaning the surface to prep the new elastomer caulking. Any help would be appreciated.
Replies
Well......start with a knife to remove the bulk.
You can then scrape with a putty knife, which will likely get the rest to come away pretty clean.
If you use a chisel make sure its sharp or it will just get frustrating. Slower is faster too.
Clean ALL of the old sealant stuff away, make sure its all dust free, prime all bare wood, reseal with correct stuff.
Easy really.
I prefer paintable sealant. After its all cured the paint keeps the UV off and makes it last longer. I found that even the stuff that claims 20 years of UV resistance will fail after only a few.
Not cos the sealant failed, the bond to the material did.
Not an exponent of the DILLIGAF system.
I have a 2" putty knife witha chisel edge that is perfect for this sort of thing. The problem with using an actual chisel is that for the inexperienced, it is far too easy to gouge. A chisel edge putty knife on teh other hand need not be sharp enough to gouge easily.
With either tool, when working a flat surface, put the bevel side against the surface to be cleaned. This makes for easier control, although it will feel counterintuitive the first time you do it. You want that bevel riding flat on your wood. If you lift the handle you will drive the sharp edge into the wood and lift it, resulting in damage. You can, however, lift the butt end the tiniest amount to help gut under a stubborn piece of caulking.
If you choose the chisel as your tool, it should be very sharp. It will not be sharp when you buy it. If you have no experience with chisels, it may seem sharp, trust me, that is not sharp (unless you buy one of a handful of brands that actually puts a decent edge on teh chisel, but this is unlikely). A sharp chisel shaves hair quite easily (I use my arm to test my chisels, and after a session where I need to hone a half-dozen or more, my left arm is typically pretty funny-looking).
If you need to remove caulking from a crack, you may be better off with a teardrop shaped scraper, but ti depends on the size of the cavity to be cleaned.
What they said. When removing caulk you often have to use every scraper-like took you own, including a screwdriver or two. You might be able to find a good hook-like tool for digging out caulk, but most tools that claim to do this are poorly designed.
Pay attention to details. When scraping with a chisel or chisel-edged scraper do as stated and place the beveled edge against the work (so that the handle points up into the air, vs being parallel with the work). Then with very slight changes to handle angle you can increase or decrease the chisel's gouging effect, giving you much better control than with the blade the other way around.
Get surfaces down to bare wood or brick if at all possible, and (again, as stated) prime the newly-bare wood surfaces (and allow to dry at least 24 hours) before recaulking.
I can't quite picture the situation you're describing, but it sounds like you should study up a bit on flashing techniques, as the original installation may have been deficient in this regard. This includes not just window head flashing, but things like cutting a drip groove in the bottom of window sills to prevent wicking back to the wall.
An old "church key" can opener used for putting a hole in the top of a metal can works quite well for this...buic
For this project, forget the chisle. That'll ruin both brick and chisle.
I use an inch and a half flexable putty knife for things like this. Every time I clean it, I do so by laying it flat ona scrap of wood and buzzing over it with the random orbital sander.
So it is even thinner and all three edges are almost as sharp as a knife. I can slide it in under almost any caulk joint or paint seal I've ever seen, drag it along, and pull it out. leaving the caulk separate from the material
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What the others have said. Often I make a tool out of an old broken screwdriver or file or putty knife. I have found the thin steel banding or strapping material (there's a box full of the used stuff sitting in my local lumber yard) handy for making a custom profile for fitting where it needs to go.
Check your flashing details too. Think like a drop of water or even better, like a drop of wind-driven water.