Tips for Selecting Caulk for Your Commercial Painting Project

No com­mer­cial paint­ing project is tru­ly com­plete with­out caulk. This syn­thet­ic sub­stance seals var­i­ous vul­ner­a­ble parts of a build­ing, such as gaps between sur­faces, seams between pipes and fix­tures, and cracks in con­crete and oth­er mate­ri­als. How­ev­er, not all caulk is cre­at­ed equal. There are in fact sev­er­al types of caulk avail­able, made from dif­fer­ent mate­ri­als and opti­mized for spe­cif­ic pur­pos­es. Let’s go over these dif­fer­ent kinds of caulk and their uses to help you select the right caulk for your com­mer­cial paint­ing project.

What to Know About Com­mer­cial Caulking

What Types of Caulk are There?

When it comes to choos­ing com­mer­cial caulk­ing, your options include, but are not lim­it­ed to:

• Latex caulk

• Acrylic latex caulk (Painters caulk)

• Vinyl latex caulk

• Sil­i­cone caulk

• Latex silicone/​Siliconized latex caulk

• Butyl rub­ber sealants

• Polyurethane foam

• Fire­proof caulk (Refrac­to­ry caulk)

• Asphalt caulk

• Mod­i­fied sil­i­cone polymers

In some cas­es, the name of the caulk gives away its pri­ma­ry func­tion. Most­ly, though, these prod­ucts only give away the caulk’s com­po­si­tion and not much else. In order to choose the right caulk for your prop­er­ty, you need to know more about what each prod­uct is good for.

Choos­ing the Right Kind of Caulk for Your Com­mer­cial Paint­ing Projects

As you sift through the sev­er­al com­mer­cial caulk­ing prod­ucts out there, it helps to focus on some key fac­tors. Let’s dis­cuss what you might look for in a giv­en caulk prod­uct and which types of caulk fit the bill.

Dura­bil­i­ty

Obvi­ous­ly, you want your caulk to last, no mat­ter what you’re using it for in par­tic­u­lar. Of course, there is more to con­sid­er than just dura­bil­i­ty. Even the strongest all-around caulk prod­ucts may have their weak­ness­es when it comes to extreme tem­per­a­tures, mois­ture, etc.

Defense Against Water Intrusion

While all caulks are designed to seal, some are more specif­i­cal­ly used as a water­proof seal­er. If your com­mer­cial paint­ing project includes areas that are meant to or are at risk of con­tact­ing water on a reg­u­lar basis, poly­mer, or sil­i­conized acrylic caulks are your best bet.

Air Insu­la­tion

Well-insu­lat­ed build­ings can save thou­sands on ener­gy costs each year. So, if you’re look­ing to become more ener­gy-effi­cient and keep the out­side world from intrud­ing on your prop­er­ty, many caulk prod­ucts will do, includ­ing poly­mer, butyl rub­ber, acrylic latex, and sil­i­cone poly­mer caulk.

Fire­proof­ing

Fire-resis­tant caulk prod­ucts are use­ful in any build­ing, but espe­cial­ly in those that han­dle cor­ro­sive mate­ri­als, use a lot of elec­tric­i­ty and gas, and/​or pro­duce plen­ty of heat. Com­mer­cial painters can apply fire­proof (intu­mes­cent) coat­ings as one mea­sure against the spread of flames, but adding fire­proof (refrac­to­ry) caulk­ing helps seal the deal when it comes to safety.

Plumb­ing Protection

When choos­ing caulk to rein­force or repair your pipes, go for a pure sil­i­cone prod­uct. 100% sil­i­cone caulk can with­stand the wear and tear of water and can be applied to just about any sur­face. So, no mat­ter what your pipes are made of, this caulk will work. 

Mason­ry Maintenance

Paint­ing brick, con­crete, and oth­er porous sur­faces can be chal­leng­ing. Don’t let that hard work go to waste by insert­ing the wrong type of caulk for the job. The best suit­ed caulk for this appli­ca­tion is a 100% solids two com­po­nent, heavy duty polyurea joint filler.

Reli­able Inte­ri­or Repairs

When it comes to inte­ri­or main­te­nance and repairs after a com­mer­cial paint­ing project, acrylic latex caulk, also known as painter’s caulk, is the win­ner. This type of caulk comes in var­i­ous col­ors, too, giv­ing it the aes­thet­ic edge oth­er caulk prod­ucts often lack. It’s also high­ly wash­able and use­ful for exte­ri­or work as well.

We’ve only scratched the sur­face regard­ing caulk and its many forms. If you’re still hes­i­tant to select prod­ucts for your prop­er­ty, the com­mer­cial caulk­ing con­trac­tors at Kaloutas will help you seal the deal. To learn more about us and all that we can do for your busi­ness, con­tact us here and give us a call at 978−532−1414.