I do not like to paint--give me sawdust any day. And since using a caulk gun has always seemed to me to be part of PaintWorld (check out this article on Painting Made Easier if you have to paint), I never gave much thought to the choice of a goo dispenser. The caulk guns that I bought all worked, sort of, and I just had to watch for the inevitable drips and ooze that could end up on the sole of my shoe or a client’s cat. Recently, though, someone let me use their new Hybrid caulk gun, a skeletal-looking device made by Newborn. Yeah, I’m in.
No drips. None. Zip. I could squeeze out latex or adhesive or even silicone all day long and it didn’t drip. I went straight home, fired up the Google and ordered two, about $12 each. After using it for a couple of months, I still haven’t been able to make it drip.
Besides its poison-green color, the Hybrid’s only weird feature is that, because of the design of the bare-bones frame, it can take a little effort to load in a full tube or shuck out an empty. But if that’s a flaw, it’s certainly one I can live with.
I also checked up on the manufacturer and found its website to be filled with helpful tips on how to choose the correct “sealant dispenser” (industry lingo for caulk gun), and how best to use its products. Who knew?
This article originally appeared in Tools of the Trade.
