painting some crown moulding

[robphelan]

i'm looking at painting a small amount of crown - maybe 100 linear feet.

i'm looking to paint it using some sort of mechanized tool rather than with a brush because I know I'll never paint all that detailed moulding properly.

any recommendations? I've read a lot of bad reviews about the wagner power painters.. any options?

 

[GasX]

How high are your ceilings? How many people do you know are tall anough to get a close look? Get a 3" paintbrush and go to town. It'll take 2 hours if you are slow.

 

[edro]

We just painted about the same amount a few weeks ago. Our room has 10ft. ceilings, so you can't even see the imperfections.

Just use a standard paint brush.

 

[fLum0x]

just painted a whole apartment (1050 sq ft) 2 weeks ago. It should not take you half a day to do all of that.

edit:

Make SURE you get good paint. That will help cover from color differences and such.

 

[robphelan]

ceilings are about 9 ft.

we had some chair rails done in our bedroom - i wish i new what they used because it came out fantastic.

 

[KMc]

You don't specify if you are painiting these in place (on the wall) or you are painting the uncut moldings elsewhere (garage, outside, etc.). IMO a brush/detail roller is only slightly slower than something like a power painter and a lot less mess to clean up at the end.

 

[robphelan]

Originally posted by: KMc
You don't specify if you are painiting these in place (on the wall) or you are painting the uncut moldings elsewhere (garage, outside, etc.). IMO a brush/detail roller is only slightly slower than something like a power painter and a lot less mess to clean up at the end.

good point.. this is all new crown moulding. there is nothing existing.

 

[olds]

Use a brush. By the time you prepped the walls/room for spray you'd be done with the brush.

 

[KMc]

Originally posted by: robphelan

Originally posted by: KMc
You don't specify if you are painiting these in place (on the wall) or you are painting the uncut moldings elsewhere (garage, outside, etc.). IMO a brush/detail roller is only slightly slower than something like a power painter and a lot less mess to clean up at the end.

good point.. this is all new crown moulding. there is nothing existing.

Well in that case, you would get pretty good results with a power painter or other sprayer as you don't really need any prep (other than a dropcloth), but clean-up time is still a pain. Find yourself a good detail roller and you could knock this job out in less than an hour, plus no brush strokes.

 

[robphelan]

Originally posted by: KMc

Originally posted by: robphelan

Originally posted by: KMc
You don't specify if you are painiting these in place (on the wall) or you are painting the uncut moldings elsewhere (garage, outside, etc.). IMO a brush/detail roller is only slightly slower than something like a power painter and a lot less mess to clean up at the end.

good point.. this is all new crown moulding. there is nothing existing.

Well in that case, you would get pretty good results with a power painter or other sprayer as you don't really need any prep (other than a dropcloth), but clean-up time is still a pain. Find yourself a good detail roller and you could knock this job out in less than an hour, plus no brush strokes.

i'm thinking that's a good idea.. i hate all the cleanup work involved with a power painter.

 

[Bryophyte]

It's much easier to paint it before you install it, then touch it up, if you can. Latex paint is self-leveling, so as long as you don't have big drips, the brush strokes will disappear. Use a good quality brush and get to work. It won't take that long. You could use spray primer that comes in rattle cans, but it's much more expensive than just buying regular primer and using a brush. Don't forget to check the moulding for imperfections between primer and paint. Any grain that gets raised can be fixed with light hand sanding. If you paint them bright gloss white, then you won't have to touch up too much after you run caulking in the cracks (nobody has perfect ceilings and walls, it looks much more professional to touch up the occasional gaps with caulking.)

I've got a bunch of moulding and trim in my house to paint, I am just trying to work up the enthusiasm to finish it. 🙁 Tiresome work.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

brush it. if you are worried about brush marks, ask the paint store for some paint conditioner that will help it even out better and lessen brush strokes. and make sure you get a paint brush made fo oil or latex (whichever you are using)

 

[Sentinel]

Just tape it out and brush, you're wasting time trying to find another way.

 

[bctbct]

Next time pre paint and then 1 final coat after install. Buy trim paint instead of wall paint.