My Two Cents: DAP Caulk Products

Winter is upon us! And while the calendar still says that, technically at least, it’s fall, the time to get weatherizing is now.

I took advantage of some unseasonably warm weather in the past few weeks to do just that, using a few different products from DAP. Sealing out the cold is a great way to increase energy efficiency and to just plain old stay warm.

I used bright white DAP Dynaflex 230®, a latex sealant that can be used indoors or out, to do a bit of sealing around doors and windows. Weatherizing is important, too, especially on outdoor surfaces, so I also used it to seal up some gaps around the wood frames I’d placed around the posts recently added to our deck. The caulk went on smoothly and evenly and was a snap to clean up.


Next up, I used the clear version of DAP®3.0™ sealant to fill in some gaps on the storage shed. I chose this as a test because the shed gets hit with all of the weather changes. And since it’s a place I hope to keep dry, I thought it would be the perfect test site for this product in particular. Why?
While it takes 24 hours to completely cure, it can be exposed to water (i.e. rain) in as little as THREE hours. This was a major plus for me as I applied it on the last dry day before an evening thunderstorm touched off an entire week of rainy days! It claims to be applicable in “all weather and sub-zero applications.”

While I can’t attest to the sub-zero part, I can tell you that this stuff sets up quick. It was rained on within less than five hours of its application and when I checked on it the next day – during which it continued to rain – it remained just as smooth as when I’d applied it. No wash-off!

DAP®3.0™ sealant is paintable (with latex paint), won’t shrink or crack and is both mold and mildew resistant. (Again, we’ll follow up on this in the spring.)

Both products are available in colors (3.0 in clear or white only) and cost between $4 and $5 a tube. While that’s a little pricier than the average caulk, so far I’ve found them to be worth it. They’re available at most hardware and discount stores. To get more information on home weatherization, visit http://www.sealyourhome.info/.

Full Disclosure: I accepted an offer to join the DAP Weatherization Team and as a result, received the products described above for evaluation. I did not receive any additional compensation for participating.

Tuesday ToolTalk: Procaulk

As far as a long list of “As Seen on TV” products goes, I’ve had a pretty good track record. Unlike the mother, I buy these things already laced with a healthy dose of skepticism. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don’t.

I don’t know how many times she has said, “We need to try that,” after seeing a product hawked on TV. She’s a consumer marketer’s dream. So, it’s not surprising then that she recently used a Kohl’s gift card to buy two such products. (They were on sale, 2/$20.)

One of the two was the Procaulk. Skeptical doesn’t begin to cover my reaction.

You may recall the recent bathroom debacle with the tub surround. Well, putting in a new surround meant removing the old caulk and putting in new. This was a job done by Lawrence. I decided this might be the perfect time to put this product to the test.

Procaulk comes with a tube of caulk, which I’m sure is a fine product, but we already had caulk expressly for the tub. The kit also includes a caulk remover/scraper, an applicator, and two spreaders. (These remind me a little bit of the scrapers you buy for the Pampered Chef baking stones, but with little notches cut into the corners. Didn’t do much to reduce my skepticism.)

Admittedly, I botched my first attempt. Lawrence didn’t do much better. Then, I saw him inspecting the notches and adjusting his grip. The second bead of caulk spread evenly. “This thing works pretty good,” he said as he used it throughout the rest of the tub.

The caveat: Practice. There is a trick to it. I still haven’t completely mastered it. Lawrence’s advice: “Hold it at an angle and don’t press too hard.” I’ll get some more practice in the not too distant future as I’ll have to rip out and replace the caulk when I reglaze the tub. Lawrence says if you can ice a cake, you can do this. (Not in my skill set, surprise, surprise. Who died and left me Betty Crocker?!)

Even so, the product scores a two thumbs up from Lawrence and that’s good enough for me.

ToolTalk Tuesday: Caulk Gun

The person who coined the old adage about getting what you pay for must have had a caulk gun in mind. I’ve owned many of these over the years, but always a Dollar Store or the cheapest version available from of the hardware stores.

Never again.

I killed my last $1 caulk gun while working on the driveway. I was using the tube crack filler and it just fell apart. The disc part that pushes the tube bottom became inextricably jammed inside the filler itself and the stem fell right out in my hand. It went out with last week’s trash.

I remembered this while working on the shed, fortunately before my last trip to the hardware store. I ducked into the paint department at Home Depot where I was greeted with at least six different guns, ranging in price from around $2 to about $15. With my latest cheap caulk gun experience still fresh in my memory, and knowing that I’ll be wanting to use some Liquid Nails when we get around to working on the bedrooms, I looked right past that $2 model.

Instead, I chose the Workforce brand at $9.97. All I can say is Wow! I used two tubes of adhesive without issues on Sunday. No fighting the full can in or the empty one out of the gun. And no scrambling for a cutter to snip off the edge of the tube. This baby has a cutter built into its handle. Somebody was thinking ahead.

So, if you use your caulk gun regularly, and especially for more than caulk and you don’t have an air compressor version (which I hear are fabulous!) I highly recommend this one. Sometimes you really do get what you pay for.