Caulk or (painted) seam tape

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natekane05
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Caulk or (painted) seam tape

 I have a decision to make. We have removed all of the old nasty yellow seem tape and primed the ensolite with zinnser and will paint final color with a good Latex  

 The decision is caulk or seam tape.  The seam tape will definitely be painted over once applied. I wonder how it will hold up with the paint on it. If I caulk, any recommendations on caulk? I’ll be painting over it, FYI. Thanks!

 

ELongest
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Seam tape

I have never had any luck applying seam tape. The tape has adhesive on both sides and you have to apply talcum power to the exposed side to negate the adhesive. I use acrylic latex caulking (ALEX) to fill the seams. You can texture it wih a wet paper towel or sponge and it is hardly noticeable.  The DC wires going to the upper cabinet can be hot glued to the shell in the seam and hidden in the ALEX. Make sure you use a paintable  ALEX calking and not silicone. I use the higher quality ALEX that costs a little more.

Eddie

salukispeed
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OSI Quad

I am sure there are many good caulk solutions. My fav has been OSI QUAD that can be purchased from places like Menards. Home Depot, Loews. and possibly ACE. Many colors to choose from

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Greg A
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Caulk Seam

I did the caulk in place of seam tape and turned out much better. Good paintable non silicone caulk, practice on some areas that are less visible. Once you get the hang of texturing it you can make the seams almost invisible after they’re painted to match.

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natekane05
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Hoping Caulk wont shrink/crack!

Thank you!!

ELongest
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OSI quad is a great sealing

OSI quad is a great sealing adhesive calk. It is a butyl calk, it seals great but it is not workable. It is sticky and once laid down it is next to impossible to smooth out.  Pretty much WYSIWYG once you squeeze it out like silicone. For ensolite the water soluble ALEX calk is the way to go because it needs to be workable to get the texture finish. Go with the higher grade Alex to prevent cracking.

Eddie