Most other areas were caulk is necessary should be lightly smoothed with your finger.
Caulking between wood siding.
Flashing acts as a waterproofing layer for this type of siding and caulking will prevent the flashing from doing its job.
While paint does tend to somewhat glue these pieces together caulking them is never advised and can cause permanent damage.
Many professionals like those at james hardie also agree that you should not use caulk on fiber cement siding unless there is no metal flashing underneath.
Placing caulk over large portions of wood siding prohibits the natural movement of the wooden panels and can cause extensive damage to the exterior of your home.
Sometimes known as acrylic latex caulk.
Bottom of siding boards should not be caulked water is meant to exit through the bottom of each board.
Fill in gaps between crown moulding and baseboards.
Any contractor worth their salt knows that you never caulk anywhere where water may need to escape.
In my opinion caulking between the seams in any lapped siding either horizontal or vertical is not good practice but not just because of any potential vapor barrier effect.
In fact some manufacturers warranties are void if you do.
Use latex painter s caulk inside of doors and windows or to quickly fill cracks.
Best for use with drywall wood and masonry.
Seal a door frame in place and seal the subfloor at the bottom of a door frame.
You never ever caulk the underside of lap siding.
Think of a wood home as a living thing.
Caulking on the exterior siding joints at the corner board if done carefully does not need to be smoothed with a finger.
Caulking them is a mistake and the caulking is likely to fail prematurely.
Matt is 100 correct.