Hi all, So I am now at the stage where the entire house walls have been painted, I have sanded the trim and now its time to get painting the trim, doors and banisters for 4 bedrooms, kitchen, living room, halls, stairs, and landing. I have been dreading this! I understand that tape below the skirting and loading the brish very lightly will prevent paint touching the floor, but what is the best/fastest way to prevent it from touch the wall above? I used low tack tape recently to cut in on a feature wall and it pulled some of the fully cured paint underneath off. Will I have to tape and remove teh tape between every coat too or can I can on until the top coat is done? Or would it just be faster to paint using a paint guard and moving along the top of the skirting while wiping clean? I paint to do one coat of acylric primer followed by 2 coats of water based satin. I know this is a difficult question to ask...but any idea how long you think a job like this would take? a few days a couple of evenings be enough? I have friends offering to help but im unsure if this is the jobto rope in friends for, dont want to spend as long touching up lol Thanks S
Don't know how long this will take - a lot longer than you expect, I fear But, the only way I know to paint trim is to use a good quality brush and a steady hand. I simply cannot see any form of guides or masking tape working over long lengths of skirting and architrave. It is a technique that requires following careful guidance and will improve with practice - and that I'm still pretty pants at. There must be YouTube vids on this? And I'm sure Astra (our resident painting expert) will be along to give his thoughts.
The secret is good quailty paintbrushes, they are essential, I use Purdy Monarch Elite, a synthetic brush for oil & water-based paints Not cheap,but just superb for cutting in, well worth the price, you can up sets of 3 & 4. I am not a decorator, & have never ever bother with low tack tape, just too time consuming, it's just a steady hand & a Purdy, my finish is good, not quite perfect though. http://www.screwfix.com/p/purdy-monarch-elite-synthetic-bristle-brush-set-3-pcs/84568
I'll offer an alternative to the other responses. Recently, I have used masking tape for this very purpose, with great success I used delicate surface frog tape (sold by SF) and left it on for all three coats. It enabled me to paint very quickly as I didn't have to worry about edges. (Although using using Sikkens Rubbol Satura meant that I had to keep an eye to for runs.) The result was perfect, straight edges. I would agree with KAIB that a Purdy brush helps - I use a 21/2 or 3 inch.
Cannot add much more to what DA and KIAB have already advised , mask up around skirting board at floor level is a good idea after vacuuming around the floor/skirting board edge first. Tape between wall and skirting should not be necessary with care. As mentioned a set of Purdy brushes are the ones to invest in, use a 1 1/2" or 2" for the job. Leaving the tape in place for a few days will not be a problem but don't leave it for weeks. How long will it take is difficult to say as the size of room is unknown.
Low tack tape is very good, especially the Frog one mentioned above, i used it over freshly painted emulsion walls with great success.
A quick look at the Frog site, I quote the following. Depending which FrogTape you use, for example Frog Delicate Surface(Green) will remove cleanly from most surfaces for up to 60 days. And FrogTape Multi-Surface(Yellow) & Gloss & Satin (Orange) tape, both will remove cleanly from most surfaces for up to 21 days and seven days in direct sunlight. And the surface it's applied too. if freshly painted must be dry & cured at least 3 days, before applying Frog tape.
Over the years I've tried many makes of tape and will say that there are some excellent ones about, personally I now always use those made by 'tesa' as I find this particular make to be a reliable consistent quality.
Am I the only one that gets the gloss on trims first, so you can emulsion the walls and wipe a dead straight line off the gloss? Mr. HandyAndy - Really
Thanks for all your replies guys, thats very helpful. I will probably try the tape below and try cutting in by hand above, with a little practice before! I have a 2 inch purdy so just hope it doesnt ruin the paintwork to date lol. I plan do do 1 coat of primer and then 2 of satnwood. Would it be OK to just use 2 coats of self priming satinwood or is the primer worth the extra effort? Thanks S
Primer is for bare wood, you must mean undercoat, read the instructions on the can of paint they will instrucr you what is recommended.
Well, I too was surprised that I didn't find it a significant problem, possibly because they are 90 degree junctions. (For example, between wall and top edge of skirting at top, and skirting and floor at bottom.) At a few points where the tape was more resistant to pulling off I ran a Stanley knife blade along. It could be, of course, that my success was due to a lucky combination of the paint used (Sikkens) and the excellent Frog tape.
Opps, I checked and its undercoat I have bought lol I already have Armstead Quick Dry Satin which states: ""Surfaces must be clean, dry, free from all defective or poorly adhering material, dirt, grease, wax etc. Thoroughly rub down previously painted surfaces, using ‘wet “Flatting’ methods where possible, then wipe off with a damp, lint free cloth. Avoid the inhalation of dust. Wear a suitable face mask if dry sanding. Treat knots with a suitable knotting solution. When painting new and bare wood apply one or two coats of Armstead Trade Quick Drying Wood Primer Undercoat. Prime all bare metal with an appropriate Armstead Trade metal primer. For bare plaster and masonry surfaces apply a thinned coat of Armstead Trade Quick Dry Satin. When applying water-based paints to surfaces previously decorated with a conventional solvent-based paint, very thorough surface preparation will be necessary"" Mix of oil and water based by looks of it, some rooms yellowed a little. I have sanded all the wood down with 80 or 20 grit sandpaper. Then just spent yesterday evening wiping it all down with soapy water and then hot water. Would using an undercoat just give the same adhesion as a coat of this satin wood anyway? or would 1 coat undercoat and 2 coat satin give give much better results? Sorry to ask so many questions
One thing I haven't seen mentioned is what type of skirting lip you have .. Is it flat at a 90 to the wall and how much does it stick out, or is it bull nosed (curves into the wall) Either way I personally would never bother with tape or an edge tool. But the above does determine how to hold the brush against the skirting to both paint it more accurate and quicker.
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