A set of caulking tools from Homax Products Inc. can help you apply caulk with aesthetic flair and remove it with ease.
First comes laying down the perfect bead. For that, there’s the Caulk Rite Caulking Tool.
This hand tool has a diamond-shaped head that smoothes caulk into joints and cracks for a thorough seal, leaving a good-looking bead. The flexible edges of the diamond will work on all types of surfaces, including siding and stucco. The tool is equally adept at smoothing silicone, latex and acrylic caulk, indoors or out.
 To pare away excess caulk for a professionally finished joint, Homax offers the Caulk Finisher. The small tool works with any caulk or silicone sealer and can be trimmed to any bead size. Using it will hurry a job along in the final stages.
To strip an old bead, there’s the Caulk-Away Caulk Removal tool. It sports a Y-shaped head for angling into crevices, plus three blades. It will extract caulk from joints and scrape the caulk away without scratching the surface or using harsh chemicals.
Finally, the Caulk-Rite 4-Piece Caulking Kit offers a complete solution for interior and exterior caulking products. The set includes one Caulk-Away tool, one Caulk-Rite tool and two sizes of a third tool, the Caulk Injector. The Injectors force caulk deep into joints and cracks when they are attached to the larger caulking tubes of caulk guns.
For more details, call (800) 729-9029 or visit the Homax Products Web site.
D.A.L.E.S. Corp.’s new SPINit is nothing complex. It’s a rod-shaped adapter for holding minirollers as they are spun clean. But the company has found two other uses for it too.
 To get into hard-to-reach places with a miniroller, reach for SPINit. When a miniroller is pushed onto the tool just far enough that it still spins, the combination becomes a straight roller handle for painting stair rails, lattice work and other awkward jobs.
Anytime a roller cover needs scraping, press the SPINit into service as a squeegee.
And, of course, use it whenever a miniroller needs to take a spin through the wash. When a roller is pushed all the way onto the adapter, it pressure-locks into a fixed position, and SPINit’s specially designed handle can be slipped into a brush spinner for quick and thorough cleanup.
For more information, contact visit the D.A.L.E.S. Corp. Web site or call (800) 545-0573.
Ladder bumpers often collect dirt and paint that will mark fresh paint as a painter trims. One solution is to tape or tie rags to them, but D.A.L.E.S. Corp. offers something a little more stylish: ladder bumper bonnets. Called BONNits, the seamless “booties” are made from soft, diaper-like material and an elastic band. They fit over any bumper cover, and they are easy to pull on and take off. When they get dirty, they can be washed and reused. They are sold bulk and in pairs. For more information, contact visit the D.A.L.E.S. Corp. Web site or call (800) 545-0573.
Titan Tools’ i-remote Universal Remote Control will operate a paint sprayer from more than 100 feet away. Buttons on the panel allow the user to turn a unit on and off as well as raise and lower psi output. The signal can pass through walls, trees and other obstacles.
 The controller helps extend piston and packing life by giving a painter the means to stop the machine the moment paint runs out. It also reduces fatigue by making the sprayer easier to use.
The remote control will operate most manufacturers’ electronic pressure-controlled sprayers. But a receiver must be installed in the sprayer for the remote control to work, and each remote control will only work with one receiver. The i-remote is sold with or without receiver. Titan regularly advertises a sale on “remote-ready” sprayers as a promotion.
For more details, contact Titan at (800) 526-5362 or visit the Titan Tools Web site.
Painters on the job contend with loose and hanging nails all the time. With a Two Bit Snapper in their pocket, fixing the problems will take only a few seconds each.
 The Two Bit Snapper, from Noxon Inc., is a spring-driven, nail-setting, double-ended tool about the size of a ballpoint pen. Not only is the Snapper easier to haul around than a hammer, it drives nails in tight spots a swinging hammer can’t.
Noxon sells five hardware-store versions of the Snapper. The most popular with painters is the 32R-12, with a #1 nail setter on one end and a #2 on the other. It has a striking force of nearly 60,000 pounds per square inch at its tip when the plunger is pulled 4 inches to 5 inches back. The Snapper is safe — the spring does not pinch — and easy to use. Just place the cupped end over the nail to be set, pull back the plunger and release it.
 Another popular variation, the 32R02, has a #2 nail setter on one end and a center punch on the other to make indentations for drill and nail starts.
Other models offer such features as a prick punch, a nail starter for #2 nail heads and nail setters for #3, #4, #5 and #6 units. There are five models in all, so a painter may choose the combination of punches and nail sets that suits his or her needs.
For more information, visit the Noxon Tools Web site or call (800) 356-6966.
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