Wainscot/Trim Caulking and Painting Question

4 years ago

Hello,
After living in our new home build we decided to have our stairway walls wainscoted. When our painter came to look at it he said some of the tiny gaps were too small to caulk and therefore would show shadow lines as it will be painted white. Is there not a tool that could get caulk into these very small crevices?
Also, I was very adamantly wanting it sprayed but my builder is saying it would be too difficult to mask off and will be a huge mess. The painter definitely had his reservations about it as well but agreed spraying would look nicer. Any experience with how difficult it would be to spray this area? Is rolling and brushing a bad idea or should I trust that it will still look good going that route?

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A Fox

4 years ago

I would hazard to guess that the rest of the trim in your house was brush painted and if it was done well you hardly even tell. Having a background in historic preservation, I prefer the brush technique anyway. Minimizing brush strokes though is all about the quality of the painter, their paint, and their brushes. Don't let anyone roll this though; the texture won't be convincing that it is all wood like I assume you want it to appear.

As far as the tight joints, any joint can be caulked, but a narrow joint may be more difficult to get a proper caulk bead and may crack with the change of the seasons. The back side of the panel molding against the stiles and rails may also be difficult to caulk without losing the sharp shape of the molding the way those pieces come together. It's definitely much easier to embrace the tight joints here if you can handle it.

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Comments (9)

doc5md
4 years ago
The painter on our build has taped-off and sprayed every piece of trim in the house thus far. I would venture to say that he would spray that trim as well.
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bsds71
Original Author
4 years ago
Doc5md, yes all of our trim and molding is sprayed. The problem is we are living here now and the overspray, at least that's what they keep saying.

A fox, thank you! I was worried about the cracking as we're dealing with that currently with our crown molding. The painter did mention the caulk would take away from the shape of the molding. I didn't know if there was a way to get down in there but not fill all the way... If that makes any sense? Will the shadow lines be noticeable?
Good advice on the the brush vs roll. I will talk to my painter and hopefully his brushing technique is good. ᾑE
doc5md
4 years ago
@bsds71 Yes, overspray can be and issue for sure. Our painter puts plastic all over the place, almost like a spray booth! lol.

I do think that a painter who can brush well would do great for you also.
chispa
4 years ago
Our house was mostly finished when the painters taped everything up to spray some large shelves in a storage room. They failed to cover up the small gap below the door ... guess where that overspray went? Right under that door and onto the hardwood floors outside the room. Luckily I saw it as it happened, wiped up while everything was wet and had no issues. So even if they cover everything up, any air movement (hvac) in the house has the potential to send overspray into unwanted areas.
bsds71
Original Author
4 years ago
Chispa, I am glad you caught that! And also makes me feel better about not pushing them to spray. Hopefully it turns out good, still a little nervous. Either way, it'll have to look better than my kids dirty fingerprints all over the wall...much easier to clean semi gloss than flat!
just_janni
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
For what it's worth - based on how exacting this looks up until this point, I'd trust your folks. It looks really well done.
PRO
Rockin' Fine Finish
4 years ago
There are ways to caulk those lines. As for spraying if that's what you want it can be lots of labor but definitely can be done. We set up plastic walls with zip poles and exhaust system works great for us when the client wants a sprayed finish.
bsds71
Original Author
4 years ago
Thank you! I actually went ahead and called our painter, it turns out he recommends spraying. The builder for some reason told him to brush and roll. Not sure why? We're paying for wainscoting, the builder is just paying for the nail pops and touch ups throughout the rest of the house. My guess is he doesn't want him tied up too long at our house.
He said he'll just mask everything off, including the ceiling and turn off the HVAC. Hopefully it will all work out!