Caulk Gun

sweaty

I just bought a high quality caulk gun from HD. The first time I used it, caulk came out the back of the tube and gooped up my new gun. Why did this happen?

DangerMouse

if none came out the front, you forgot to puncture the inside seal (between tube and caulk) after you clipped it.
some caulk guns have a 'swing out' rod on the front for this purpose.

DM

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Maintenance 6

Before you load a tube into the gun, check the plunger in the back of the tube. If the tube was dropped and the plunger is deformed, the caulk will leak past it and out around the piston of the gun. I hate that. I had a case of quart tubes of adhesive that must have been dropped and about half were bad. I learned real fast to check inside the tube before I load them.

Leah Frances

DM is right (no surprise there). I would guess OP didn't break the seal first (b/c I've made this mistake before - and more than once ) When the trigger is pulled, advancing the plunger, the caulk could not go by the seal at the top, so it oozed past the seal at the bottom.

But I find most swing out rods are of insufficient length or inconvenient for quick and complete puncture. I keep a six inch piece of 12 g copper in my tool bag for this purpose.

How to make your caulking gun work:
1. Cut the tip off at the desired angle and depth. Many have little marks to guide you.

2. Insert rod or wire through the tip into the body of the tube to puncture the inside seal. Sometimes more than one 'poke' is required (TWSS).

3. Slowly squeeze the caulking gun trigger. Listen for air moving out of the tip and look for the caulk to fill the tip. If neither of these things happen - try puncturing the seal again.

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sweaty

I did puncture the seal all the way down with the attached wire. I guess it's not long enough.

DangerMouse

i think they make the assumption that the average person will cut off at least an inch... THEN the wire is long enough...
i usually just grab a long nail or stick and punch it out.
another possibility is if the stuff (how old?) has hardened in the front, but not the rear, it'd do that too.

DM

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fuster

I have used a cut coat hanger for, well...a long, long time. It reaches the deepest seal and works flawlessly.

I would agree that your caulk only comes out the back when it can't find a way out the front. Pretty basic issue of pressure.