How to Install and Paint Interior Trim  

Many people believe that baseboards should be painted before installation. However interior trim should always be installed prior to painting. Installing pre painted trims can easily tack on a load of touch ups that could be avoided if you paint the interior trim last. If you are painting the entirety of your room; ceilings, walls, baseboards, etc it is essential that you save this task for the end to avoid touchups from fallen drips and splatters. By following Peak Pros tips for painting interior trim, you can paint a whole room in one go.

Install

First step to painting new interior trim is to install! First measure how long you need your trim to be, cut, and install! When nailing in the baseboards, make sure to push the baseboards securely to the floor and the wall. When your baseboards are properly measured and ready to install use 2 inch nails and a nail gun and nail into the bottom plate right above the floor. This will give the baseboard a sturdy attachment to the wall. If the baseboard leaves a small gap at the top, don’t worry, just add another nail along a stud and then apply caulk to the top of the baseboard.

Caulk

Now it is time to fill in any cracks and gaps with your caulking gun. Most importantly, make sure the caulk you have chosen is a paintable! Start with the corners going bottom up, and smooth into cracks while taking away excess caulk. Next caulk the top of the baseboards filling any gaps. When doing the top of the baseboards, it may be helpful to lay down painters tape on the wall and on the baseboard leaving a small gap for where you are placing the caulking. For final touchups with your caulking gun, fill in any sort of hole created by your nail gun.

Prime & Paint.

Here is the fun part, PAINTING! Now that your baseboards are installed and all holes and gaps have been caulked, it’s time to prime! Peak Pro loves to paint baseboards last so that there is no need for touch ups. This way we can get the job done fast and perfect the first time. Peak Pro loves to use our airless paint sprayer because of the flawless finish it leaves, however if this is not attainable, a medium sized paint brush will get the job done.