I have yet to settle on a protocol for caulking undermounts that I am happy with.  It seems no matter how careful I am I never get a great looking bead on revealed undermounts.    I see some undermounts (flush and overhang) with no caulk in the visible gap.  (I am sure there is silicone on the flange to seal it).

What do you guys do for?

1) overhang
2)flush
3)reveal

Also, do you match the sink or the deck with the caulk.  We use Axiom or Polysill depending on the situation.

Thanks

On a reveal, we use the color of the sink.  The other types we just use clear on the top flange and that's it.  As far as applying it, we just cut the tip of the caulking very, very, very, very, very small.  

Once it gets big it is hard to wipe off the silicone without messing up the flange of the sink.  Looks horrible.

Overhang. Silicone the flange

Flush- Silicone the flange then with 100%... Run a good bead (no gaps or air spots) Once around the whole sink, Spray a section with denatured alchohol.. wipe with finger or laminate chip. (Wilsonart chip for small bead, Pionite chip for huge nasty bead, formica for no bead) Then spray next section and wipe.

When wiping with finger or chip, do small (2-3") lengths then wipe on rag or paper towel.

This is also how we do our set top BackSplash on Solid Surface,E-Stone,and granite.

Works great and looks wonderfull.

We also almost always order color matched silicone for all tops.

Oh yeah...

REveal.... We dont offer it as it defeats the purpose of an undermount.

I generally use Bondaflex clear or transwhite silicone.  The tubes I get come with long narrow tips that don' t require cutting.  You cut the tube and screw on the tip.  Works really well for a nice fine bead.

I also dont give a reveal on solid surface jobs.  I only do it as a special request on stone jobs.

[QUOTE]Travis H wrote

Oh yeah...

REveal.... We dont offer it as it defeats the purpose of an undermount.

[/QUOTE]

Travis,

I always thought that the biggest advantage to undermount was to be able to wipe the counter top off right into the sink.  Reveal or flush oroverhang,  they all achieve this.  I personally only do overhang on porcelain bowls that do not have any finish on the top of the flange.  I don't like overhang because it leaves a large surface on the underside of the deck for water and what ever other stuff might roll over the edge, to cling to.  I think that overhang installs are easier since they do not require the same degree of exactness as flush and reveal methods.  I don't like the flush method due to the fact that all stainless bowls that I have seen have at least a 3/16 radius at the top.  Cast Iron have a 3/4 " radius.  Either scenario requires more caulking in a flush installation than I like to see.  Therefore I don't do flush.  I am not trying to knock how you do it.  I bet they look great.  These are just my prefferences.

When I mount Stainless bowls I use 1" Solid Surface strips that have about a 1/16 x 1/2" rabet on one side.  I find that this presses the flange down tight to the underside of the counter top.  This in turn squeezes a bead of silicone out all the way around the bowl.  After it has fully cured, I use a new razor blade to trim off the bead flush with the deck cut out.  Very clean, leaving the least amount of caulking as possible.

Johnny C

Overhang:
Silicone the flange out to the top of the radius. St Steel=clear, others=color match - sort of.

flush:
mmm.... tricky kind of cutout. How much do you follow the irregular contours? Anyway - Clear=st steel, color = color.

Reveal (if we can't talk them out of it):
We try to talk them out of it again. But I think the choices for silicone are the same, but we would fall back to the inside of the bottom radius. Doing the first one in at least a year now.

OK. I feel a little better now.

OVERHANG:  no problem

Flush or very little overhang:  (freakin Kohler Caxtons )    match the sink and do the best you can.

Reveal:  match sink and use a tiny tiny bead and a bit of prayer.

Several flush mounts I have seen had only silicone on the flange, not sure I like having that gap there but it looks alot better than trying to caulk it in.

 

Thanks all.

 

Chris

It's a tough call, isn't it?

Technically, you'd do the customer a good turn by filling in as much as could be expected to stay. Looks like crap, but the benefit to keeping more crap out outweighs it, I think.

Chris, the Pure sink from Domain is a good substitute for the Kohler Caxton. I recently completed a hotel where 110 of them were used. I was able to use the same template for all of them.  Yes the reveal wasn't exactly the same on all of them, but I think you will find that with Kohler's also.

Norm,

Have you tried Global sinks, they're located in Tampa. We've had good luck with them. We don't offer any flush mount vanity sinks because of the variation in all the brands. If we do a flush mount kitchen we do a test cut in 1/4" mdf to insure the template works. We've only found that the expensive brands of Stainless sinks work.

You mean vs all the Chinese sinks being dumped on the market Mike?

As a homeowner, I'd choose the expensive ones vs the "it may fit " stuff. I mean, are our kitchen sinks going to become disposable like TV's, VCR's small appliances etc....?

Dave,

Didn't you know they're trying to help? Of course our kitchen sinks are not disposable, but..... when they fail faster then the expensive ones, it just means it's time to REPLACE your countertops.Who would want to put a new sink in a old countertop?

[QUOTE]Norm W. wrote
Chris, the Pure sink from Domain is a good substitute for the Kohler Caxton. I recently completed a hotel where 110 of them were used. I was able to use the same template for all of them.  Yes the reveal wasn't exactly the same on all of them, but I think you will find that with Kohler's also.[/QUOTE]

Norm,

I got two of them in yesterday to test out.  In my area they are a good bit less than the Caxtons  even after shipping.  I just returned a Caxton that was over a 1/2 inch shy front to back. Needless to say it did not fit the opening which had been cut to an existing template (stone job subbed out fabrication) , fortunatly I found another Caxton off the shelf that was closer to right and it fit the opening. 

 

 

Global's are a lot less then Kohlers. And with the problems everyone is having with them they must be made overseas which would explain the inconsistencies.

Mike, there was a time you could trust big brand names, not anymore, most everyone has jumped ship, or should I say container?

The Kohlers I get are "Hecho en Mexico".

[QUOTE]Andy wrote
The Kohlers I get are "Hecho en Mexico".[/QUOTE]

me too. Senior

Si senor, this would explain the dimensional differences.