What to use to repair cracked caulk on stairway (on an exterior wall)?

You can try white silicone for the cracks and paint over to hide them.

I agree! Sand lightly to smooth out the paint but not to remove it. Apply a bead of white caulk. Wet your finger and smooth out the caulk forcing it into the crack. You may not even have to paint.

Thanks- should I dig out the old caulking?

hummmm....what brand of silicon caulk are you using? I've yet to find a brand containing silicon caulk that would take paint.

You shouldn't have to remove the old caulking - it doesn't look thick and bunched up. It looks like it just cracked apart from the change in the heat/cold. Many of trim caulk jobs do that too in the winter. Just recaulk over it and you should be good to go!

I agree, do not have to remove old caulk, especially if your stairs are like mine and you would have to use a ladder on the steps to reach certain areas.

use a damp cloth wipe over the crack then use some caulk, fill in the crack smooth in to crack ,so you can't see it wait till its dry then undercoat then paint ,

gone .

Use light weight (no need to sand) spackling. wipe on with a finger, wipe off excess before it dries with a piece of wet t-shirt material for a smooth finish.

Let it dry. You may not have to paint at all.

Hi there, you can caulk those gaps. Start with a clean surface, so removing the existing caulk is very important. Scrape it out with a screwdriver or a putty knife. (If you run into stubborn caulk that you can't get loose, use a utility blade to score the top and bottom.) After all the old caulk is removed, re-caulk it with quality caulk. Make sure you use 100% silicone caulk. It’s more flexible and will expand and contract. Let it dry. Good luck.