Painting Baseboard Trim: You’ll Need a Good Brush, Tape and Poster Board

Of all the painting tasks that go along with painting a room, painting baseboard trim is one of the most tedious. Not only that, but it can be difficult to paint it without getting paint all over your carpet or flooring. Here are some tips to make painting baseboard trim an easier job and to keep your floors looking great.

The first thing you should do is buy yourself a good paintbrush. It is worth splurging a little and getting a high quality brush that will hold paint so you may be able to get by just doing one coat of paint on the trim. With cheaper brushes you may find that you have to go back and do a second coat which just makes the job twice as hard. A couple of extra dollars spent upfront on a good brush will more than pay for itself with the time you will save on painting your baseboard.

Next, use painters tape to tape off the wall above your baseboard trim. If you are a tidy painter you can use narrow painter’s tape, but if you tend to get a bit sloppier it is probably a good idea to go with a wider painter’s tape. Be sure to press the tape down evenly across the entire surface and make sure that the edges of the tape are fully stuck down so that no paint leaks underneath.

Rather than taping off your flooring, the easiest way to keep from getting paint on it is to use a stiff piece of paper like poster board. If you have carpeting, push the poster board up against the baseboard and then use a putty knife to push it down between the molding and the carpeting. If you have hardwoods or another type of hard flooring just push the poster board up as close to the wall as you can and try to work it a little ways under the edge of the molding.

Next, pour a small amount of paint into a paint tray or a plastic container that is easy to move around the room with you. Dip your brush in, wipe off any excess paint and begin painting your baseboard. Paint using long strokes and make sure your strokes follow the length of the baseboard rather than using short up and down strokes. As you come to the edge of the poster board move it down to cover the flooring in the next section.

Because you invested in a good brush you may only need to do one coat of paint on your baseboards to have them looking great. If you are changing the color from a very dark color to a light color or vice versa it may be necessary to go back and do an additional coat. Allow the paint to dry and see if you can spot any thin spots that need touching up before removing the painter’s tape from your walls. If everything looks good, remove the paint and enjoy the fruits of your labor.