Post by wisconsinjoe on Sept 3, 2021 4:31:34 GMT -8
Sometimes you just have to use some caulk. In this case I was unhappy about the backsplash installation I just completed in the kitchen. We really like the stick-on tiles that you can get (Home Depot carries a large selection, and they are sturdier and cheaper than ones I found online).These are aluminum bonded to a sturdy plastic backing that is sliced to match the intersections of the individual tile shapes, then further backed with a thinner plastic layer and a peel-off sticky surface. To trim, it’s easy to utility knife down those lines. If you need to cut anywhere else, a chop saw or table saw works fine.
It would have helped if I had read the directions. Believe me, that sticky surface is unforgiving. Apparently, if you heat it up with a hair dryer you get a little bit of wiggle room to slide in place. I did not do that, and was dismayed to find some places where the tile line was off by under a 16th of an inch. I could not NOT see that black line flaw every time I walked into the camper.
Metal colored silicone caulk to the rescue. But there is a trick to do. You must take the time and patience to carefully apply masking tape on both sides of the open area. In this case, I had to do that for the entire backsplash along the three sides of the countertop. That’s the hard part. Then simply run a small bead of caulk along that seam. Have a bit of water to dip your finger into and some paper towels and then run your finger to press in and smooth the caulk to almost nothing. Immediately and carefully peel off the tape, and voila, the offending black line gap will have disappeared.
20210728_083621 by Joe Mirenna, on Flickr
20210728_084009 by Joe Mirenna, on Flickr
20210728_084308 by Joe Mirenna, on Flickr
20210728_085432 by Joe Mirenna, on Flickr
I use this method whenever I need caulk, no matter how large the gap is. Takes a bit of fussing with the masking, but looks professional every time.
Sorry I didn’t take a before photo, but I know you know what such a mistake looks like.
By the way, the countertop is stainless steel that a local metal fabricator cut to match the plywood base. We anticipated an annoying mirror reflection from the undercabinet lights. The fabricator gave us a scrap piece of material to play with. We started out random orbit sanding with a fine 320 grit, which did not seem to do much. We ended up sanding with a rough 60 grit in a systematic, multi directional pattern. The result was a pleasing muted reflecting surface in this durable material.
It would have helped if I had read the directions. Believe me, that sticky surface is unforgiving. Apparently, if you heat it up with a hair dryer you get a little bit of wiggle room to slide in place. I did not do that, and was dismayed to find some places where the tile line was off by under a 16th of an inch. I could not NOT see that black line flaw every time I walked into the camper.
Metal colored silicone caulk to the rescue. But there is a trick to do. You must take the time and patience to carefully apply masking tape on both sides of the open area. In this case, I had to do that for the entire backsplash along the three sides of the countertop. That’s the hard part. Then simply run a small bead of caulk along that seam. Have a bit of water to dip your finger into and some paper towels and then run your finger to press in and smooth the caulk to almost nothing. Immediately and carefully peel off the tape, and voila, the offending black line gap will have disappeared.
20210728_083621 by Joe Mirenna, on Flickr20210728_084009 by Joe Mirenna, on Flickr20210728_084308 by Joe Mirenna, on Flickr20210728_085432 by Joe Mirenna, on FlickrI use this method whenever I need caulk, no matter how large the gap is. Takes a bit of fussing with the masking, but looks professional every time.
Sorry I didn’t take a before photo, but I know you know what such a mistake looks like.
By the way, the countertop is stainless steel that a local metal fabricator cut to match the plywood base. We anticipated an annoying mirror reflection from the undercabinet lights. The fabricator gave us a scrap piece of material to play with. We started out random orbit sanding with a fine 320 grit, which did not seem to do much. We ended up sanding with a rough 60 grit in a systematic, multi directional pattern. The result was a pleasing muted reflecting surface in this durable material.
