# Caulking trim edge against painted wall



## bluegrassdan (May 8, 2015)

I have a job painting natural wood trim white against walls that have already been painted. Thinking about frog taping wall and caulking edge of trim. After it dries I will paint out trim and then remove tape. Will the tape be on too long or maybe pull the caulking out with it. Don't want to leave the edge of trim not caulked. I normally paint trim first and then walls but a lot of people don't get that.


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## Ramus8T (Jan 14, 2020)

bluegrassdan said:


> I have a job painting natural wood trim white against walls that have already been painted. Thinking about frog taping wall and caulking edge of trim. After it dries I will paint out trim and then remove tape. Will the tape be on too long or maybe pull the caulking out with it. Don't want to leave the edge of trim not caulked. I normally paint trim first and then walls but a lot of people don't get that.


Make sure you can see the edge of the tape next to where you caulk. 

If you bury the tape edge in the caulk it will rip it up. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Joe67 (Aug 12, 2016)

I can't tell what you're needing to do. The trim is now natural wood color (with a finish on it?) but it is now getting painted? But it was never caulked in to the wall? If you're just painting trim after walls, that's ... pretty normal. But the caulking would have gotten done before the walls got painted. I would just need a more detailed description (and maybe some pics?) to have an idea about how to proceed.


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## bluegrassdan (May 8, 2015)

the trim is now pine with a clear coat and I need to paint it white. They don't want their walls painted so I have to get a clean line of caulk and paint and not disturb the walls.


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## Masterwork (Sep 13, 2020)

Is there a gap between the pine and the wall? Just paint the pine. Leave the gap.


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## bluegrassdan (May 8, 2015)

Leaving the gap looks terrible to me.


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## Gwarel (May 8, 2012)

I would tape the edge, paint the trim, pull the tape, and finish with a fine bead of caulk.


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## Joe67 (Aug 12, 2016)

I have done this kind of thing plenty without the extra time and expense of tape (which will probably make things end up looking like junk anyway). It does require some caulking finesse, but basically you just do a "clean caulking" to the trim. You need a good elastomeric to reduce the chances of cracking where it will end up thin. (Where the gaps are on the bigger side, less of a problem).

Anyway, by "clean caulking," I just mean that you lay a bead down and tool it into the gap, and then wipe it completely off of the wall side - with some manner of finesse and a damp rag. If you do it right, you end up with a nice clean caulk line that you just follow with your brush. I've always been able to make it work well.


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## fromthenorthwest (May 2, 2012)

On vertical pieces like the trim and window casings, I wood tape and caulk like you're planning on. The one thing you need to watch out for is don't put that tape too close up to the edge of the trim, or the caulking will bridge the tape and not come off clean. Also wipe off as much of the caulk as you can. If you leave a gap and dont over-caulk the tape could stay on for days and still be fine. 

On the baseboards you can usually hand cut that line pretty good, it's similar to cutting in a wall to the ceiling and it will look fine.


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## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

dont let the caulk dry on the tape!!!! ALWAYS pull it right away when doing that.


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## MikeCalifornia (Aug 26, 2012)

Just caulk with a thin bead of clear, finger as normal, then wipe with wet rag. The clear will dry slower, overnight is ideal, then just cut your reveals with a brush as you are doing the casings. No need for tape!!


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

Ya, I think there's a few different ways you could approach this.
1: If your going to tape, pull it soon after you caulk and then retape on top of the caulking.
2: Freehand the caulking, then tape and paint.
3: Tape the caulking, then freehand the paint.
4: Freehand everything.
5: Paint first and neat bead of caulking last. Tape or no tape.

Note: If you tape the wall, you chance pulling off paint. Just saying.

Man, now I'm confused.


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## mug (Dec 22, 2010)

Touch up paint the walls after?


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## stelzerpaintinginc. (May 9, 2012)

bluegrassdan said:


> I have a job painting natural wood trim white against walls that have already been painted. Thinking about frog taping wall and caulking edge of trim. After it dries I will paint out trim and then remove tape. Will the tape be on too long or maybe pull the caulking out with it. Don't want to leave the edge of trim not caulked. I normally paint trim first and then walls but a lot of people don't get that.


Lots of ways to approach. Every reply given so far can be done successfully. Too many unknowns. 

If you want the very best advice from everyone here, you might want to specify;
-The type of trim stock you're painting.
-The texture of the wall. It matters in how I'd approach it, (smooth vs orange peel).
-The color of the walls as well as the sheen.
-Whether you have wall paint available for touch-up.
-What products you're using.


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## fromthenorthwest (May 2, 2012)




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## fromthenorthwest (May 2, 2012)

Here's some walls we finished today against post and beams, same principle for trim or walls. There were some large gaps between the drywall and beams, so we had to use a large bead of caulking and let it dry overnight. Btw thats drywall mud all over the woodwork not our paint. The important thing is just leaving plenty of space between the tape and what your painting against, so the caulking doesn't bridge over the tape line and pull up with the tape. Also i only really use 2090 blue tape for this type of stuff


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

fromthenorthwest said:


> Here's some walls we finished today against post and beams, same principle for trim or walls. There were some large gaps between the drywall and beams, so we had to use a large bead of caulking and let it dry overnight. Btw thats drywall mud all over the woodwork not our paint. The important thing is just leaving plenty of space between the tape and what your painting against, so the caulking doesn't bridge over the tape line and pull up with the tape. Also i only really use 2090 blue tape for this type of stuff


Nice caulk dude. Looks tight!


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## fromthenorthwest (May 2, 2012)

finishesbykevyn said:


> Nice caulk dude. Looks tight!


Thanks, cheers!


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## JHS (Apr 20, 2013)

Homeowner doesn't have wall paint to touch up???


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