DOORS TO FLOORS (continued)

With the doors completed, let's cast our eyes downward. Not in shame, but just to take a look at the baseboards. Before we paint them we need to wrangle that fuzzy carpet. It is time for that two inch masking tape.
For the purposes of brushing and rolling, professionals do not use a lot of masking tape. Paint tends to bleed under tape and it can bond to painted walls and wallpaper causing problems that we don't need.
Carpet, however, is one place that masking tape can be handy.
 
Starting in a corner position the tapes edge as close to the baseboard as possible without sticking it to the face of the baseboard. Push the tape down tight to the carpet. Continue the process to complete the entire room. The tape will often pull away in the corners, go back and check. Simply fill in the corners with a small piece of tape.

Load the paint brush lightly, much the same way we did while painting windows; Start in a corner and with the brush turned edgewise establish a paint line at the top of the baseboard to the wall. Pull the paint line two or three feet toward you. Lightly load the brush and start back in the corner at the bottom of the baseboard, hold the brush at a low angle, almost (but not quite) straight out from the baseboard and slightly graze the tape with the paint. The low angle will help prevent paint from being jammed under the tape. Now it's just a matter of filling in the face of this section and moving back to paint the next one. You will find it easier to pull the brush toward you and move backwards around the room.

If your knees need a break, call time out when you reach a corner.

It has been about an hour since we finished painting the baseboards. We need to pull up the masking tape now. The "blocking" problem I mentioned earlier could come into play if we let the tape stay down over night. The problem is that over time the paint on the face of the baseboard will bond with the paint on the masking tape. That could result in the paint on the face of the baseboard being ripped off when we pull up the tape (sounds painful). Believe me, it would be painful to repaint all this baseboard.

Oh yeah, here's one more little baseboard trick. Had a little paint bled under the tape here and there, here is a quick and permanent fix:
After the baseboards have dried, place a piece of heavy paper (construction paper or the like) against the face of the baseboard at the site of the "boo boo". Next, with the one inch stiff putty knife tuck the "boo boo" into the crack between the carpet and the baseboard. This trick works for minor paint tags major ones may require rearranging the furniture so that the couch sits along that wall.......Just kidding.

All horizontal woodwork trim such as crown moldings or chair rails are painted in the same manner as we painted these baseboards. Of course we lose the tape and get off our knees, but the technique of establishing the top and bottom paint lines then filling in  the middle remains the same.

Next up......that darned cabinet.....
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Roger Woodward is a painting contractor with over twenty five years in the Painting Trade. Over the years R. Woodward & Co. has established a reputation for high quality workmanship, honesty and fairness. Roger's professional and sometimes innovative approach to the house painting craft has garnered him the respect of his fellow Craftsmen and provided a customer loyalty that is seldom seen. Roger is also the Founder and Publisher of Painter Forum,  an outstanding free home painting resource for DIY and professional house painters.
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Painting Frankenstein
by Roger Woodward
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