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I am caulking the edge of our new floor. Because the vinyl panels are textured I am having an awful job getting a neat line, it's squeezing into the "grain" of the panels and looking terrible. I have attached a picture of what I am ashamed to say is one of the better areas.

I have stopped for now, I'm going to let it cure and rip it all out to start again but really need some advice on what to do. Normally I don't have much trouble with caulking but this is the first time I have done it on a textured surface like this, normally I am doing tiles, uPVC etc.

Put some masking tape down first?

Someone-Else wrote: ↑Fri Sep 20, 2024 10:58 am Put some masking tape down first?

Tried that. Because of the texture some just oozed under the masking tape, and removing the masking tape left an ugly line as well, I think because it wasn't perfectly smooth due to the texture.

I saw a video of a guy spraying soapy water to prevent the mastic from sticking in areas you don't want it. On YouTube, it might help.

DWD

Can I ask why you are caulking? Would it not be better left without? If there is a big gap that you want to fill, I can't see any way to stop the silicone bleading into the grain. I would find some thin pencil round flat beading, painted fisrt, to pin to the bottom of the skirting. If you have access to a rip saw, you could make your own out of a decent, knot free, bit a redwood.

dewaltdisney wrote: ↑Fri Sep 20, 2024 12:17 pm I saw a video of a guy spraying soapy water to prevent the mastic from sticking in areas you don't want it. On YouTube, it might help.

DWD

Yep this helped a lot. I don't use soapy water, or water for that matter when sealing bathrooms etc as it will stop the silicone sealing properly, but with a forming tool it isn't needed anyway on smooth surfaces. Not such a concern here.
I also switched colours which made a big difference.
Going to have rip out the white bits when dry and redo them though. Eurgh! lol

stevei wrote: ↑Fri Sep 20, 2024 3:30 pm Can I ask why you are caulking? Would it not be better left without? If there is a big gap that you want to fill, I can't see any way to stop the silicone bleading into the grain. I would find some thin pencil round flat beading, painted fisrt, to pin to the bottom of the skirting. If you have access to a rip saw, you could make your own out of a decent, knot free, bit a redwood.

Partly for a neat finish and partly to stop water getting down the edges when washing the floor.
Adding a trim beading would be incredibly tedious given the number of door ways and mouldings in this room. It was bad enough cutting the floor to fit, don't want to do it all again with trim.