For interior door, window and trim projects, acrylic latex caulk is usually a good bet. Use it for multiple projects, from installing wood paneling without nails to quickly filling in small drywall holes and cracks. Experts advise acrylic latex caulk is the best choice for baseboards.
Use it to fill gaps in bricks or cement, repair cracks, or fix small holes left by nails and screws.
Spackle vs caulk
Spackle is used to fill and repair holes in flat surfaces of drywall. It is then sanded smooth and painted. Caulk should be used in corners or seams that need a little flexibility as the boards or walls might shift over time. You do not typically sand or paint over caulk.
In order to fill a large gap, it is best to work in single, well-done layers one at a time. Instead of filling a gap from bottom to top all at once and in a vertical orientation, lay down one excellent line of caulk, then another above it and so on until the gap is one layer shallower.
Certain places on the exterior of the home should not be caulked, since they'll cut off openings needed for air circulation or drainage. Elegant Painting says these spaces include the gap created when trim boards sit atop the siding, any wood to metal joints, weep holes on windows, and garage door panels.
Tiny nail and screw holes are the easiest to fix. Use a putty knife to fill them with spackling or wall joint compound. Allow the area to dry, then sand lightly. Anything larger must be covered with a bridging material for strength before patching compound can be applied.
As a rule of thumb, caulk is best for corners and joints while spackling compound is a filler for small holes, dents and cracks -- but it isn't unusual for painters to adapt these materials for special needs.
Use wood filler, or spackling, to fill nail holes, dents, and cracks on wood trim. You should use caulk to fill gaps or joints between trim pieces and/or drywall.
Loctite Polyseamseal Acrylic Caulk with Silicone bonds to wood, drywall, plaster, metals, brick, concrete, and masonry and can be painted within half an hour if you are using latex paint.
When filling a large gap, don't point the nozzle directly into the gap, instead build up several layers. Place the first bead of caulk onto one surface (edge of skirting board), then place another layer on top of the first bead until the gap is covered. Use your finger to smooth and leave until dry.
It is a flexible material that allows the best possible finish to be achieved by covering cracks, removing gaps and generally creating a neat and tidy edge to interior & exterior surfaces. While it is classed as a filler, caulk is not sanded down to create a smooth finish.
The most common reason why caulk won't come out of the tube is because there's a seal on the inside that needs to be punctured first. Many caulk guns come with a long metal stick attached to the side just for this purpose. Poke the stick into the nozzle to break the seal and start the caulk flowing.
Small holes can be patched over with drywall tape or a self-adhesive drywall patch, but large holes need a more rigid material to span over the larger opening. The simplest solution is also the best: cutting a patch from another piece of drywall and securing it with wood backing strips and drywall screws.
Also, you should always use a respirator if you're working with sealants to keep particles and fumes from entering your lungs. In addition, it's important to choose the right type of sealant and coating for the type of material or surface to finish the job smoothly and prevent safety issues along the way.
Before applying new caulk around your bathtub, shower, or sink, you must first remove the old caulk. New caulk doesn't stick to old caulk, so if you fail to remove the old stuff, the new caulk can't form a watertight seal, leaving the potential for moisture to seep into areas where you don't want it.