Author Topic: New trim..finish coat before installation ok?  (Read 4546 times)

Offline parkfront

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New trim..finish coat before installation ok?
« on: February 17, 2006, 12:56:39 PM »
Hello all,

I would like to end up with the cleanest job I can, and because my skills are limited, I thought it might be a good Idea to prime and paint the base, casing and crown before installation. I have done it in the past on a crown moulding job, and because the color was white, I used white caulking for gaps and seams, and then used a thin square scraper to remove the excess on edges and corners. I then filled the nail holes with white hole filler/patch and then a light sanding. I don't remember touching up over the nail hole patches, but because of the height, it was not an issue. It was a barter for a friend....massage therapist in fact. :)

I liked the results, but I will need a clean, smooth and completely painted trim on this job.

I plan to use semi gloss oil based paint and patch holes with MH Ready Patch.
1. Does the caulking and scraping without paint work on eye level trim, or should I plan on caulking and painting?
2. If I finish coat before installation, do I need to prime before I touch up the patches?
3. If I touch up with a brush, will it show on a sprayed on finish?


Thanks for any suggestions

Offline CarlThePainter

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Re:New trim..finish coat before installation ok?
« Reply #1 on: February 17, 2006, 10:30:49 PM »
I think you always need to paint caulk no matter the height.  What happens is over time, dust sticks to the caulk and soon the caulk line is no longer white....it's yellow or it is just dirty looking and it cannot really be cleaned.  The MH Ready Patch is good stuff, but it is really not all that sandable.  We usually use some lightweight spackling and leave little hills of it over each hole to account for shrinkage and then sand it is flush.  The whole problem with finishing painted trim before installation is really what to do with the nail holes...they need to be 2 coated if you want them not to flash through your finish paint, so you really are 2 coating the trim after it is up, plus you need to paint the caulk.  So if you want to do it right, you have to paint it after install anyway...perhaps it may be a waste of time doing it before.  

 

anything