Is silicone caulking worth a damn?

[cmac2012]

Doing a punch on a house for a buddy and I had to caulk a bathtub.

I couldn't find the laytex stuff I ususally use that's labeled bath/shower so I went with white silicone. Don't like the stuff -- it's hard to clean up and I've found its sealant powers over-rated -- but I thought I'd research it a little more (maybe I was using it wrong) and give it a shot. One web site said to wipe all surfaces with acetone just before caulking cuz even finger oil can interfere with a good seal.

It was a royal pain. I'm starting to wonder if the stuff is crap and GE keeps making it simply because suckers buy it. If this tub goes bad in the near future, I'm never touching the stuff again.