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So I have what looks to be a small crack next to my shower/tub (One of the fiberglass inserts) and the wall next to it.

Im assuming this is just where the silicone/caulk has dried and cracked? Is there an easy fix to this outside of just tearing out all the silicone? The house is around 6 years old. it's such a small crack im wondering if I can sort of press in the silicone in the crack to give it some "pliability" since were literally selling this house in a month and i'd rather not have to tear out ALL the caulk around the shower. (BTW how big should the gap be? the gap between what seems to be the drywall and the shower insert seems to be...widish?

Photo: https://i.stack.imgur.com/hP3XP.jpg

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Get yourself some painter's caulk (not pure silicone--acrylic with silicone is ok). Cut the nozzle tip small at a 30 degree angle. Slide the tip flat along the crack and force caulk into the void. Gently scrape any squeeze-out off with a damp finger or bit of cardboard. Wipe any smears off the surface of your drywall with a lightly damp cloth.

Wait a day and see how much shrink you get. Chances are you'll want to hit it again. Then paint if you didn't achieve a good color match.

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  • Any suggestions on smoothing it out after? Just use a fine grit sanding block then paint over I suppose?
    – msmith1114
    Jun 5, 2017 at 21:07
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    I explained how. You don't sand caulk.
    – isherwood
    Jun 5, 2017 at 21:08
  • Won't it be bumpy after it dries though? and I paint over it. Or after I wipe it I guess it should be pretty smooth lined with the wall I guess..
    – msmith1114
    Jun 5, 2017 at 21:09
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If you know how to caulk, you'll notice you can achieve the desired results by using the tip of the gun alone. It's done by putting pressure on the gun towards the tip and by almost 'back angling' the gun away from the direction of travel.

It will feel like it's auctely angled the other way, but basically you're going for 90 degree to the joint, square, and in actuality it's ends up being forward angled towards the direction of travel. Essentially, you have to play with the angle depending on what you see going onto the joint. Less angle, more angle. More force, less force. 2 factors while caulking.

But cutting your tip right is crucial. I'm sure there's lots of videos on that. In most cases you should not have to wipe the joint. Unless you're fire caulking haha.

Look at videos of "glaziers" caulking. They're the best. They caulk glass almost for a living.

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    I've done a reasonable bit of caulking in my life, but I'm having a really hard time following your description. I do agree that changing the angle of the caulk gun, the speed at which you move it and the rate at which you squeeze the handle will all impact the quality of the job you do. Maybe you could include a drawing or two showing what you mean - I think that would help out immensely.
    – FreeMan
    Oct 21, 2021 at 14:04

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