# chair rail



## painterdude (Jun 18, 2008)

seems that every house I've been doing lately have a chair rail between colors or between same colors. What's your go to way of going about it. Paint the rail first, let it sit, tape off and cut after, or paint walls and do 2 coats on rail? Hey, I'm getting older and really after almost 40 years I'm not used to this much chair rail work..this along with the new latex hard gloss products are making this a pain. Thanks for any new school insight. Pd


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## NEPS.US (Feb 6, 2008)

Depends on the style of rail.


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## ReNt A PaInTeR (Dec 28, 2008)

If I am painting the whole room I always do the trim first and leave the walls to the end.


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

I like to paper a nice open pattern above and a darker yet more solid pattern below. Chair rail itself, like all the woodwork, gets painted by the painters before I enact my craft


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

I'd tape off the rail and then paint everything above it. Next, I'd prime and paint the rail. Last, I'd paint everything below it. I might apply the final topcoat on the rail after applying the first coat (assuming they'll be two) on the surfaces below - more of a time management thing.


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

It's faster for me to paint the wall after the rail.


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## Wood511 (Dec 13, 2010)

Workaholic said:


> It's faster for me to paint the wall after the rail.


Me too. I prefer cutting into rail, crown and baseboard because of the ridge. It's easier to cut along a smooth surface (wall) with a ridge (trim or ceiling) as a stop - than it is to paint that little ledge along the trim.

I've been putting up a decent amount of that chair rail. It's getting big in my area along with taller baseboards and crown. Splitting colors above and below is all the rage.


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## Amish Elecvtrician (Jul 3, 2011)

Depends....

I like to 'spray before brush' (cut-in doesn't count).

I like to do the light colors before the dark or strong colors.

I like to do the walls before the trim.

When these three 'rules' are in conflict, it can get interesting.

Chair rail is very visible, and very much in the way. Paint it now, and someone is sure to touch it within minutes. In a perfect world, I'd do the chair rail last, at the end of the day, and lock the doors overnight.


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## wills fresh coat (Nov 17, 2011)

start at top and work your way down......cieling,crown,top wall, chair rail,bottom wall then base........works for me


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