Cracked caulk - what next?

[Jameswren]

Hello

I'm re-decorating our house, completed three rooms and gone to admire the work only to spot hairline cracks in the caulked areas.

Should I re-caulk? Should I scrape the current caulk? Extra coats of paint haven't helped.

I've had Unibond caulk recommended instead of the Soudal rubbish I'm about to return.

Any advice is welcomed.

 

[vibrobullit407]

Is it the caulk that has cracked or the paint over the caulk?

 

[Jameswren]

The caulk cracked and it's been painted over and the cracks still show.

 

[vibrobullit407]

Did you leave the caulk to dry out or did you paint over it before it had dried?

You could try caulking over the existing and leave to dry, then apply a thinned oil undercoat to the caulk before emulsioning.

I would prefer to cut out the cracked caulk and try again giving plenty of drying time and priming it with a thinned oil undercoat before emulsioning.

 

[RMS]

Most good quality caulks claim to be paintable soon after application. It's probably a good idea to wait to at least the next day to paint over. However, I don't think this is your issue.

What brand of paint did you use? I find that a better quality paint will help.

What areas are cracking? Is it above the skirting boards?

A thinned coat of undercoat is not needed. Simply apply more caulk over the cracks, not too thick and repaint.

 

[Jameswren]

Thanks for the replies.

I used Soudal caulk with Dulux paint on top. I'm pretty sure the cracks were present before painting. The caulk had dried for 48 hours.

I was hoping that a new layer of Unibond caulk then re-painting would fix the issue.

 

[joe-90]

If your timber is moving/shrinking - it will crack until it stops.

 

[WabbitPoo]

If it was cracked, why did you paint it?

 

[xr4x4]

Paint does a pretty good job of covering normal cracks, so why wouldn't it cover cracks in caulk?

 

[Jameswren]

There's no timber - all brick walls.

I painted hoping the hairline cracks would fill and not show.

 

[deanibusmaximus]

cracks will nearly always come back to haunt if not filled unless anyone knows of a paint that the rest of us don't know about.
Personally I would smooth over any hairline cracks with a good flexible lightweight filler, check out the link for a good example.

http://www.trade1st.co.uk/productdetail/Light-Weight-Filler/44.aspx