John and I are nearing the finish line on the big house renovation (woot woot!), so here comes our most requested tutorial yet: how to paint base molding next to carpet.
Yes, it CAN be done! Without getting paint all over the carpet, even.
There are a few ways of tackling this, and the best one depends on the type/length of your carpet. In this video I'll show you three different methods - all of which we've used during our decade of painting professionally - so you can see each one in action and decide which will work best for you.
For a general guide, though: if you have a high shag carpet then the blade method is usually best. For low or Berber styles like we have here, tape's the way to go. And for medium length carpet, any of
these three can work, provided you're skilled with a brush.
Oh right, guess I should include the video now, huh? Here ya go:
And finally, here are my three results again in EXTREME ZOOM, just to give you a closer look at what I'm talking about. (Ignore the wall cut-in, we're only looking at the carpet edge on these.)
Brush Only:
With Blade:
With Tape:
As I say in the video, it's a little strange that we have this extra quarter-round trim on our baseboards (long story), so odds are you don't have that, and will have an even easier time painting your trim than I did. All of these painting methods work exactly the same whether you have quarter round or not, though.
I hope this helps with your own painting projects, gang! As always, if you have any questions fire away in the comments, and John or I will do our best to answer.
Happy Saturday!
Thanks for this! I need to repaint ours and I dread it. Not only do I have to work around the carpet, but the builders didn't use the flat baseboard like you have. They used the same stuff that they put around the door frames- it's ridged (contoured?) and is gonna be a b*tch to paint. Hopefully with your tape method, it will be easier!
ReplyDeleteOooh, that makes so much more sense now! Thank you for the tutorial! 🎨
ReplyDeleteWhat about stained trim? We have different trim in each area of the house. I want to paint it for uniformity. Prime then paint?
ReplyDeleteYes, stained trim will need a good primer first, so the water-based stuff will stick! If it's super-duper glossy you might give it a quick sand first, too, to help the primer stick.
DeleteWhat primer do you recommend?
DeleteI use the tape method, but I cut long strips, maybe 4-5 inches wide, out of a plastic garbage bag and tuck that under the edge of the molding with a putty knife. Works really good! I have also used a cut up drop cloth the same way, so I could reuse it when I had a lot of molding to do.
ReplyDeleteWe have that extra quarter round trim in our house as well. It drives me crazy because you can't get anything against the wall properly and things get lost behind everything.
ReplyDeleteAnother person chiming in with the extra quarterround! I tore it up in one room as a test (because if I want to refinish my floors, it needs to come up) and apparently it covers some large gaps! Fun...
DeleteJen, this is exactly what I needed! Thank you so much. Now, when the carpet is taken out in some places, we will have laminate with matching quarter round. Do you think I should leave the quarter round the color of the floor, or paint to match the trim?
ReplyDeleteI've seen it done well both ways, so that's a matter of personal preference. We tend to like it white to match the trim, but if yours already matches the floor, then save yourself the extra work and just leave it as-is! :)
DeleteThanks for the great tutorial! What do you recommend for painting trim against a wood floor instead of carpet? Just masking tape on the floor?
ReplyDeleteYes to taping the floor, but use blue painter's tape instead of masking; it'll be easier to remove and less likely to leave any sticky residue behind. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! Will do.
DeleteWhen I got new vertical blinds I had some extra plastic slats as well as some 14” trimmings. These are perfect when I paint trim (used like your knife method).
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the tutorials! I have taken my dark blue and brown living room and made it so much lighter (okay, it's white. I had a bit of a knee jerk reaction to the dark blue)!
ReplyDeleteMy question is related to something you touched on in the movie: if you are covering a dark color is it worth using a primer as a first coat, or should you just plan on doing the paint twice, or more?
Hope you are having a good time at Dragon Con! I love the vicarious coverage!
If you're using a good quality paint then you shouldn't need primer; you'll still need 2-3 coats regardless, so it really won't save you any work. The exceptions are SUPER dark colors in higher sheens: we once had to cover a gloss eggplant purple [whimper] and I swear that thing took 5-6 coats. In that case, go with a primer. The flat sheen of the primer will stick better and give you a nice foundation for your final paint color.
Delete(You also need primer over greasy or sticky walls, like in a kitchen, or old wallpaper adhesive. Not related to your situation, but just throwing that out there for everyone else. :D)
O.o I will forever feel very grateful there was no eggplant paint in my house!
DeleteThank you again for sharing your expertise so freely!
Somewhat related to painting, do you guys have any tips on how to colour match paint? I have the hardest time with this when I'm making prop replicas... I can never seem to match my paint to what I see in screenshots. Do you guys have any tips you can share?
ReplyDeleteOhhh, that's a tough one, and hard to give tips without being in person and demonstrating. It helps to understand color theory and know your opposites: if something is too red then add green, etc. Often this will seem insane, but it truly works.
DeleteFor a quick cheat, of course, just bring your color swatch in to Lowe's or Home Depot, and have them color match it on the machine. You'll have to buy at least a quart, but that can be a life-saver for projects!