Finished caulk job — nearly perfect

I didn’t think I’d like the appearance of clear acrylic (recommended by Giani) around my sink so I ended up ordering color matched caulk (see my post Matching caulk after Giani Granite Paint) so it was way, way past 12 hours by the time I caulked my sink. To be honest — I was putting it off because I dreaded doing it. I thought this would need to be “freehand” caulking with no wipe down and I didn’t see myself doing a good job at that, especially in the nearly impossible-to-get-to back edge of the sink. And I didn’t want to look at a lousy caulk job around my sink that would detract from the gorgeous countertops. I checked with Giani Just to make sure I didn’t steer anyone in the wrong direction I called Giani to ask about their directions on caulking the sink after using their products to paint the surrounding countertops.

Their directions say:

Roll on your final Topcoat., then wait . . . – 1 hour and carefully remove tape – be sure to score the tape’s edge while pulling it up – 12 hours and apply clear acrylic caulk around sink’s rim to seal out water – one day before using your countertops and dishwasher – three days before setting small appliances back on your countertops

When I spoke to Giani they said the 12 hours was an absolute minimum, but your could do it any time after that. Personally — I wouldn’t mess with it until it had dried longer. If the top coat wasn’t completely set up you could make a real mess. Method for caulking As I said — I had a low level of confidence for doing it freehand so I used painters tape. Painters tape is great for straight lines but what about rounded corners. I drew up a template using a bottle (ended up being a vitamin bottle) that was the same roundness as the corner. I used the template to cut pieces of wide painters tape that would span the corners.

Once the tape was marked with a Sharpie I found scissors didn’t work for cutting because the tape stuck to them. I went to using my rotary cutter and carefully making the turn on the corner and that worked great. Here’s what the taped sink looked like when I was done.

taped and ready to caulk

I left a little over an 1/8th inch gap. This wasn’t precise because I don’t think there’s a way to be precise, but it was close enough. Next I applied caulk all the way around — I took no care to do it perfectly because I was going to flatten it out anyway. I used the tip a spoon (experiment with the right curvature) and ran it all around the sink to push the caulk firmly into the gap and smooth it.

caulk applied with no precision at all

I allowed the caulk to dry for just a few minutes so it wouldn’t be too runny and make a mess when the tape was pulled. I got a grocery bag ready by hanging from an upper cupboard handle so I could dispose of the tape easily. I then very carefully pulled the tape straight up and away from the sink. Remember the order you tape the sink and reverse it for the tape removal. The tape is really messy, so be careful to not get it all over — you might want to wear gloves. I ended up being really glad I planned in advance and had a bag handy for disposal. The good thing about waiting quite a while after doing the countertops was the Giani top coat was so hard that nothing pulled up with the tape. I have no idea how long you have to wait so this won’t be a problem. It’s been about 4 weeks since I did the top coat. The results Here are the final pics of how the caulk turned out. Yes, it was a lot of work for a little caulk job, but it would be a shame to ruin the appearance of the countertops. The caulk looks perfect — even on the back edge. Doesn’t the countertop look great too :-)?

Caulking sink after Giani Granite Paint – The DIY Girl

Caulking sink after Giani Granite Paint – The DIY Girl

Caulking sink after Giani Granite Paint – The DIY Girl

Related posts:

Matching caulk after Giani Granite Paint $70 Countertop Fix – Giani Granite Paint Part 1 $70 Countertop Fix – Giani Granite Paint Part 2 Decisions on countertops and backsplash