I finally stopped fighting with silicone around doorframes

I've been doing residential installs for about 4 years now, mostly in the Phoenix area, and I always dreaded the silicone bead on exterior doorframes after drilling through stucco. Last week I had a run of 6 jobs with these tricky frames where the gap was super uneven, like 1/4 inch on top and barely a sliver on the bottom. I tried the usual masking tape and finger method, still looked like a mess. Then I grabbed a cheap plastic spoon from my lunch and used the handle as a mini float, running it along the bead at a low angle. It actually pushed the silicone into the gap evenly and left a smooth, clean line without any extra tools. I redid one of my own old jobs on my house with it too, and it looked 10 times better than what I had paid for. I know it sounds dumb, but it took me 20 minutes instead of the usual hour of wiping and redoing. Has anyone else found a weird everyday item that beats the standard caulk tools?

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tylerw921mo ago

Gotta disagree with you on this one. I've tried the spoon trick and it never gives me the control I need on stucco, especially when the gap changes mid-run. The plastic flexes too much and ends up smearing silicone where I dont want it, then I gotta break out the mineral spirits anyway to clean it up. For uneven gaps like that, I'd rather push the bead in with my finger dipped in soapy water and then wipe once with a damp rag, it reads the contour way better than any rigid tool.

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