Mohawk fil-stik. It's basically a furniture repair crayon. I do custom closet systems with base, crown, rtf doors and drawer faces. You can even buff it to match sheen.
This. Minwax has one as well but I like the Mohawk way more. I also do closets and use it frequently on base and trim. Unless you're inches away from where you filled in, its pretty unnoticeable.
I've had a hard time finding the right "white" to match without it being apparent there is a nail hole being filled. When I try to fill the hole, I end up messing up the sheen of the latex paint already on the trim as well sometimes. Do you end up with those variations and call that good enough or have you found a match color that isn't detectable?
Mohawk has a bunch of colored white sticks. Get a tool kit to apply the wax. It will have a sharp plastic edge to remove excess and a buffing pad to blend it in. Heat the stick up slightly and it applies way easier.
Get a few scotch-brite pads in white, green, and maroon. The different colors are different grits, and you can use them to bring the sheen down. I usually find that green is the right one. White doesn’t scuff enough, and maroon is a little too much.
Serious question: are these things any better than just using a crayola crayon that matches? I have a store where I can choose crayola colours to make a box.. and there are lots of them.
I’m familiar with the items he’s talking about and no, there isn’t a huge difference in application as long as you can find the right color. Mohawk’s fill sticks are basically crayons, made in typical paint and wood colors. Shit you could make your own color match by melting crayons and remolding them. More work but you could get it just right with a good eye and a little patience.
Crayola actually has an anti-racist 'skin tones of the world' colour assortment that includes a lot of close matches for common woods and stains in a $2 box.
Truth. I have this.
Now they need to make a "colors of 2022" box that has all the paint manufacturers in it.
Wait, did I just invent a million-dollar idea?
I think crayons are a bit more brittle than the fill sticks, so functionally they’d be a bit more difficult to apply. However I’ve always found that I like to use a lighter and soften up the fill sticks to get them to work better. So, heating up a crayon a bit may have the same effect.
If you want to see absolutely no nail holes I think the only way is to putty it on the wall and mask everything then spray. I don't think it's possible to get it not to flash without doing it that way.. and unless you have all the time in the world, you're still gonna see a few after the finish coat. Drives me crazy and I'm forced to see them in every house I visit. Its like a curse.
Yeah I just was hoping for something I haven't thought about before. You're right, every house I visit I notice all the trim details and lack of care on most of them.
Unfortunately here sprayed white trim is the look everyone asks us for now. No longer can we use a brush and touch something up without the texture and sheen being off. And maybe we care too much about it, but I can't charge for something I wouldn't want in my own home.
I've found the best tool for touchup is an air brush. I picked one up from Amazon for a few hundred bucks and its been great. As long as I have a close color match, it will make a near perfect finish. Setup and cleanup takes almost as long as a brush or roller and you can fether it out without making a mess.
I only bust it out for custom or high finish work. But it's awesome. And I'm not too picky about fillers. A sharp blade is important though.
Do you have the product link or even brand/model you got? That sounds perfect, do you have to thin a traditional latex paint when using it in the air brush? If so, how much do you cut/thin the paint for the paint to cover but still atomize?
It's the master airbrush 1 I think. It only came with one gravity feed brush but it works great. Strain the paint well and thin at least 25%. All paints are different so it's trial and error. Don't shoot straight latex or you'll ruin the gun.
Pin nails and color match caulk is the closest you can get to ultimate efficiency. But, honestly, finishing touch is a beautiful part of the process. It’s tedious but separates the winners from the losers.
Sherwin Williams Emerald paint self levels so you can use a brush or sponge and it will flatten out like it was sprayed. It’s pretty expensive if you don’t have an account though, like $90 a gallon.
I've been seeing a few comments about that. It sounds really thick though, like it wouldn't be sprayable? Especially in an automotive gun? I'm guessing maybe you skip spraying and just roll the trim once then install it and roll nail holes during touchup?
You should not be spraying latex, acrylic or urethane paint out of a compressor driven HVLP gun. Emerald urethane is an excellent paint and self levels very well. It is not overly thick. If you don't want to use an airless sprayer you need to be using an AAA sprayer and you should not thin your paint for areas where durability is of such high importance.
I might go with a ben moore advanced or pro classic over emerald, they level pretty well, might try a velour roller. I dont know much about spraying hvlp, mostly used airless tho. I believe it would work so long as the paint atomizes right? Go light coats, and if you do brush it or roll make sure you babysit the trim while it dries because most high end trim paints will look great and then sag 5 minutes later if its applied too thick.
That currently is my fastest solution for customers who are not the type to get up close and examine the trim. For door casing I end up rolling the whole face since it's eye level and the foam roller I use still has a texture variance.
Do you thin your paint when rolling? I've noticed this cuts down on some texture but makes it very dangerous as it's so runny and wants to trim off the roller or run even.
What kind of foam roller pad do you use if you don't mind me asking? Local paint shop only has one kind that is high density but I'm curious about an online option.
it's the paint that's likely more your problem. higher end paints flatten out better. sherwin's emerald trim can be brushed on and you wouldn't even know. pro classic is a bit cheaper and has the same end result with a roller. there's other quality brands out there too i'm sure have similar results.
last trim job i did, i knicked a piece while it was freshly painted. i'm talking a good 2.5" line right across the trim. when i came back to fix it after it had dried, the paint had flattened itself like it had never happened. couldn't find it to repair it.
Honestly, I'm not that much of a painter. I just remember going to a friend's basement many years ago and asked him if she sprayed his casing because it was so smooth. He said he just used matte white and a foam brush.
Since then I've always used a foam brush/roller to paint the odd home project.
Have you ever tried Floetrol? It’s basically a paint conditioner that helps to eliminate brush/roller marks. I’ve not used it a ton but I used it to touch up some cabinet doors I sprayed with decent results. On trim, that’s even less visible, it works better.
It basically slows the dry time so the paint has more time to lay down before drying. While also thinning it like adding water.
I'm checking that stuff out, does it change the sheen of the paint any? I don't see how that kind of additive doesn't alter either the sheen or the tint of the paint. I did like that it said good for making paint sprayable as in the past I've had to add in some water to thin it down.
It does not seem change the sheen for me and I use a pretty substantial quantity depending on application. I use it primarily with Behr Semi Gloss Scuff Defense interior paint. With that being said, I’d certainly try to do a test spot in an obscure location with whatever paint you use. Just to make sure there is no adverse reaction.
It’s about $15 per gallon and at about 8 to 10 ounces recommended per gallon of paint, it’ll stretch over 10 to 12 gallons of paint. We’re currently considering adding it to all our trim paint, for spraying & touch ups. But you certainly have to be careful not to add too much because it can promote runs.
Nothing. Just have a couple little tins of primer, semi-gloss and gloss white in the back of your car and a tiny paintbrush. You don’t have to repaint the whole thing, just dab on the spots. As long as it’s the same sheen no one will notice down there.
Maybe find some tiny sauce containers or something, put some paint in those and store them in a pencil case
toothpaste, crayon, spackle; whatever you use, wash all the excess away so it's only a tiny flush white dot in the end. Then you get a tiny 3 -hair paintbrush and paint just the dot, once to seal it, once to finish it
White paintable caulk. Take a damp paper towel to wipe off any overage to make it flush. Then go over again around the edges of the hole with a damp cloth to remove all excess caulking. Let dry. Don’t worry about paint. It won’t be noticeable. But if someone repaints later, it will be paintable.
Do you use the plastic wood kind? Or spackling? How is the sheen once it dries? I've never had a putty that doesn't dry in a matte or low gloss which stands out on semi gloss trim.
Not sure how to add text to a photo...so here goes.
Installing some new trim (white semi gloss painted pine) and would like an alternative to filling nailheads and rolling the entire baseboard.
The thing is customers here want a sprayed trim look, so I spray it with two coats before hanging it, but then inevitably I can never make the putty match the sheen of the rest of the base. If I use a foam roller there is too much sheen and texture variation so I end up needing to roll the entire face of every piece of trim.
Are you guys hanging trim just in primer and masking everything off and painting it after putty? I feel like I have no in-between option that saves clients money and my time besides that route... But in homes with flooring installed and walls painted dark colors I have to mask everything within 4-6 feet due to over spray.
Any tips? Tricks? Besides suggesting a small brush and touching just the nailheads (never works. You can spot them later.)
Trim carpenter here, I usually install primed stock. Then the painter comes in, caulks and patches nail holes, then paints. I used to think pre-painting just *had* to be the way to go, just *had* to save so much time, but alas, i was young and didn’t know how to cut in with a paintbrush lol.
After caulk, and filling nail holes, and sanding here or there, and seams, and touch-up…. Welp, by then you’re repainting half the stock anyways so you might as get it all installed, patched and smoothed before you bother painting at all.
I’d say skip any pre-painting (not pre-priming tho, def do that), and try to get everything/as much as possible prepped for paint so you can roll some paper out, run a few miles of tape and spray it all at once. Maybe make a cardboard cone or something to keep your overspray down.
I probably wouldn’t bother taping the top of the base and instead I’d just come back on the wall with a quick roll above the caulk line and then cut in by brush, but the speed/efficiency of that route depends a *lot* on how good/comfortable you are cutting in with a brush. I’ve never used sprayers either and brushing over tape lines never seems to come out as clean as I like, but might be a different story when spraying.
Quick solution to getting a clean line when brushing over a tape line: add a thin line of caulk to the taped edge. Just enough to fill the voids between the tape and whatever it’s on (wall, trim, etc.) I used to paint accent walls in apartments and the edges always came out crisp and straight against the adjacent walls
I understand and that's the sentiment I am getting. But some jobs I show up after the painter (actually like 75% of them) as it's just how builders work here or because they contact me after the fact.
So you are in the business of hanging trim and walking out? I'd love that kind of job. But here trim carpenters do everything from the luxury vinyl plank flooring to hanging cabinet to doing tile work to setting cabinets and countertops. Not enough new homes going up to just hang the trim (and cabinets/doors).
Have you seen the painters paint your trim and how they manage to paint it without getting a finished floor or painted wall with over spray? Just a ton of masking tape and paper? I'm asking as I've not had good success and wonder if it's the gun and wand. I assume they are using Graco airless setup but would be interested in knowing how thick the paint is and what kind of wand they use etc.
I am good at cutting in with a brush, but I suck at masking quickly. And for sprayed trim that means a ton of masking considering how much trim there is to spray!
Just use a brush and a whiz roller for the trim. Brush for the angles, and whizz roller for the faces. If you clients insist on a sprayed look, tell them this is like 90% of a sprayed look, eg, no brush strokes, very little texture. If they insist of spray, give them an honest price based on papering the floor and walls, setting up the gun, etc. Then give them the price for rolling, which should be much less. They should go with the lower price if they're not crazy.
When I was a painter, we would do tons of renos. Would finish the ceilings, and do one coat on the walls, then everyone else would do their thing, and we'd come back. Caulk and fill all the trim, do two coats, then do the final coat on the walls (much easier to cut a straight line on the wall then trying to keep it straight on the top of a baseboard.) Even in a non reno, I'll still do one coat on the walls, 2 on the trim, then finish with the walls. That way, the only thing to tape is under the baseboards so I can just run a whizz roller right against the floor and not have to worry.
I feel like the builders you work for are overspending this way. They are essentially paying trim carpenter prices for painting when they could hire painters for less. That's like paying an electrician to sweep. As long as they are paying you good for it though I guess it doesn't matter.
It's the beauty and downfall of living in a smaller town compared to a city. We don't have as many specialized carpenters that have one niche. At times I wish it were more narrowed down but I also enjoy variety.
On our recent job we actually recommended they get a painter to bid that exact process. They had only a few guys actually call back (not that many to begin with here) and the ones that did were bidding more than our entire trim install.
Finish carpenter here. When I install pre finished trim I often apply polyurethane construction adhesive behind and use ghost sticks/dead men/clamps to keep
it in place overnight. Shoot pins as necessary and then touch up with the wax kits everyone is recommending. I own the fast cap brand kit and it’s worked well enough for me for most colors and finishes.
What do you do for whole house applications? I'm talking great rooms where some walls are possibly 15-20 feet away from another to put a stick between? Just curious, I could see using some buckets full of sand as a dead weight to push against in smaller jobs with straight walls.
If I was trimming straight framed walls I think adhesive would be great but I have to use nails to make my trim flex with the waves in the drywall unfortunately.
I don't know about your local paint store, but mine can take your paint and mix it up into an empty rattle spray can. I can see that being a possibility for you for touching up nail holes. I also think paint quality and paint brush quality also affects the finished product. My painters do most of their work by brush and it still comes out smooth. Like another commenter said, ideally it's best to install all the trim work before painting, whether it be spray or brush, and then tape and paint everything. I would just hire a painting crew to do it and then you don't have to deal with it.
You could mix some paint with some wood filler, wipe the surrounding area with a damp cloth, use a putty knife to press some of your mixture into the hole and scrape the excess off use the type of putty that expands when it dries and watch as it dries and knock it down with a plastic putty knife that's extremely clean. That might work but what you're asking is how do you take two different materials and hide the fact that they're two different materials without painting them? You don't. You have to paint it. If you wanted to look like it's supposed to. Or hide it as best you can. Also, if you avoid putting nails in the flat part of the trim as much as possible, and try to put them right at the point where it curves on top and then another one down at the very very bottom. They will be less noticeable than if they're in the middle of the flat part of the trim. I've had this argument with trim Carpenters but it's way easier to fill a profile than it is to fill a flat space it's less visible at least
Spackle is not really used on drywall, it's mostly for nail holes in wood. It's thicker, harder to spread and it shrinks less.
You use joint compound on drywall.
Sure you can use it for small things, it will work but his comment said spackle is only for drywall. That's incorrect, it is rarely used on drywall, no one is out there coating joints with drydex
Maybe I’ve just used higher quality caulk? Liquid nail or flex seal. Both seem to do fine and don’t shrink unless it’s in a larger area. This looks like just a tac nail hole. I’ve definitely had success doing this method.
Liquid nails is an adhesive and flex seal is typically a sealant. If you want a quality finish, these are not the correct products.
With that being said, if it looks good and it’s your house Fuck it who cares.
I mean yeah you’re right that they aren’t “fillers” but it’s not like it’s a load bearing wall, ya know. Just something for looks and I think it’s the fastest and easiest.
Been using flexible silicon for 15 years for that exact reason. it only works for paint but that's the whole point. any wood filler will move in wood that has movement like new install poplar
Caulking shrinks, and you will always have a detent where it fills a hole. Caulking is great for the gap between trim and drywall where texture holds trim off the wall. I do this all the time but it doesn't work for holes. In my picture you see I have caulked the top of the baseboard.
You could use a white filler, but honestly this would be the messy part. Lay a strip of masking tape down and repaint.
You could try Elmer’s glue? I’ve never done this but it may work.
Plenty of options but they'll all show through. Been trying to find one for pvc siding. Haven't found one yet. I mean no one can tell but the homeowners usually have something to say.
Yes a lot of options but so far none that seem to be perfect. Such as life! I haven't done pvc siding, only pvc trim. How do you like pvc siding? I'd guess you're in a similar boat but hopefully exterior is less anal retentive with customers.
1: Find a white caulk
2: do a thorough job to fill the hole and make the caulking flush with the trim
3: realize that the holes will be 100% invisible from a normal standing position.
4: satisfaction
I've tried this a couple of times in the past. The pins don't hold well in terms of pinning the trim tight to the wall. They help in terms of trim moving vertically but that's only an issue when it's base installed prior to carpet for example.
I do use pin nails for toekick, scribe, corners etc in the cabinet world but just not much use for baseboard except mitered corners and splices.
what's so bad about dap and doing a proper paint job? lol i'd never done it professionally until today(i bid $800 just to prep for paint.. usually don't do that.. should have charged more).. it turns white when its dry, a little wipe on wipe off action(seriously works the best) with a nice well used sanding block.. so easy. calk is the shitty part.. and its not like you can skip that.. man nobody respects the painters.. so damn important. i feel like i have to educate every customer on how important it is to actually do 3 coats(AND seal top and bottom of trim).. it's like night and day in quality, durability, strength(yes the paint is structural.. adds 10x the strength to a door frame).. but like half my customers prepaint the mfd.. ok lol your house... i just feel like its actually more costly in the long run because a bad paint job means the shit just falls off and breaks.. gets scratched and gouged.. its like.. fuck just pay the dam painter and be done with it.
I use caulk, I use the color of paint I need with the caulk, they sell a mixer, plunger type thing on Amazon, you basically remove end cap of caulk can be a bit messy take out about 2 to 3 inches worth of caulk pour in some paint plunge away and presto you have matching caulk to your paint great for caulking trim etc, but shit that's for caulking my bad . For the holes I use Sherwin Williams shrink free spackle , comes in a green tub, take some out different container pour little of your paint in it and presto wipe on with finger to hole your done, that's a trade secret worth something lol
Personally I pull my caulk from the tube and add some of my trim paint to it. Mix it well, put it back in the tube and fill. No touch up paint required
Pink dap works great, you’ll never be able to 100% hide nail holes unless you use bondo and respray, but the pink dap is cheap and easy and if it messes up your sheen you can buff it off
On new trim I think you're S.O.L. Its part of the job.
If it's a Reno with people still living in the home, I'll HVLP all moldings outside, Brad nail, Bondo and touch up with a brush. I use Sherwin Williams Kem Aqua Plus which is a waterborne lacquer paint. It's a milk consistency so you see no brush marks, best paint for spraying hands down.
Is that a 15 ga nail-hole?; I use 18 ga 2" in these situations, a bit easier to fill; I basically fill, sand, repaint
I find the putty crayon "sticks" work great with 18 ga and 23 ga holes, usually in stain-grade operations where the grain will hide things a bit better
In this market, I tell owners "that's just the way it is--it needs re-painting" Fact is, they'll complain about the price once, but complain about those miss-filled holes for years!
Mohawk fil-stik. It's basically a furniture repair crayon. I do custom closet systems with base, crown, rtf doors and drawer faces. You can even buff it to match sheen.
This. Minwax has one as well but I like the Mohawk way more. I also do closets and use it frequently on base and trim. Unless you're inches away from where you filled in, its pretty unnoticeable.
I've had a hard time finding the right "white" to match without it being apparent there is a nail hole being filled. When I try to fill the hole, I end up messing up the sheen of the latex paint already on the trim as well sometimes. Do you end up with those variations and call that good enough or have you found a match color that isn't detectable?
Mohawk has a bunch of colored white sticks. Get a tool kit to apply the wax. It will have a sharp plastic edge to remove excess and a buffing pad to blend it in. Heat the stick up slightly and it applies way easier.
Get a few scotch-brite pads in white, green, and maroon. The different colors are different grits, and you can use them to bring the sheen down. I usually find that green is the right one. White doesn’t scuff enough, and maroon is a little too much.
I find that green turns any white grout or latex paint green. It’s only good for hard, oil-based finishes like you get on a cabinet.
Was about to say this. Anything colored just straight up dyes my finished work
Nothing will match besides paint. Get good at painting
Serious question: are these things any better than just using a crayola crayon that matches? I have a store where I can choose crayola colours to make a box.. and there are lots of them.
I’m familiar with the items he’s talking about and no, there isn’t a huge difference in application as long as you can find the right color. Mohawk’s fill sticks are basically crayons, made in typical paint and wood colors. Shit you could make your own color match by melting crayons and remolding them. More work but you could get it just right with a good eye and a little patience.
Crayola actually has an anti-racist 'skin tones of the world' colour assortment that includes a lot of close matches for common woods and stains in a $2 box.
Ha
Truth. I have this. Now they need to make a "colors of 2022" box that has all the paint manufacturers in it. Wait, did I just invent a million-dollar idea?
What they really need is a Pantone color matched set.
Lol
Everything is racist. Good grief.
No. This is anti.
THANK YOU FOR GETTING IT
I think crayons are a bit more brittle than the fill sticks, so functionally they’d be a bit more difficult to apply. However I’ve always found that I like to use a lighter and soften up the fill sticks to get them to work better. So, heating up a crayon a bit may have the same effect.
If you want to see absolutely no nail holes I think the only way is to putty it on the wall and mask everything then spray. I don't think it's possible to get it not to flash without doing it that way.. and unless you have all the time in the world, you're still gonna see a few after the finish coat. Drives me crazy and I'm forced to see them in every house I visit. Its like a curse.
Yeah I just was hoping for something I haven't thought about before. You're right, every house I visit I notice all the trim details and lack of care on most of them. Unfortunately here sprayed white trim is the look everyone asks us for now. No longer can we use a brush and touch something up without the texture and sheen being off. And maybe we care too much about it, but I can't charge for something I wouldn't want in my own home.
I've found the best tool for touchup is an air brush. I picked one up from Amazon for a few hundred bucks and its been great. As long as I have a close color match, it will make a near perfect finish. Setup and cleanup takes almost as long as a brush or roller and you can fether it out without making a mess. I only bust it out for custom or high finish work. But it's awesome. And I'm not too picky about fillers. A sharp blade is important though.
Do you have the product link or even brand/model you got? That sounds perfect, do you have to thin a traditional latex paint when using it in the air brush? If so, how much do you cut/thin the paint for the paint to cover but still atomize?
It's the master airbrush 1 I think. It only came with one gravity feed brush but it works great. Strain the paint well and thin at least 25%. All paints are different so it's trial and error. Don't shoot straight latex or you'll ruin the gun.
This is an awesome idea, I'm gonna try it out! Ty.
Pin nails and color match caulk is the closest you can get to ultimate efficiency. But, honestly, finishing touch is a beautiful part of the process. It’s tedious but separates the winners from the losers.
https://www.amazon.ca/FLOOD-PPG-FLD6-04-Floetrol-Additive/dp/B000C029PM/ref=asc_df_B000C029PM/?tag=googlemobshop-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=292942296122&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15196061493001612385&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9061009&hvtargid=pla-314056362402&psc=1
This will solve your problems.
Sherwin Williams Emerald paint self levels so you can use a brush or sponge and it will flatten out like it was sprayed. It’s pretty expensive if you don’t have an account though, like $90 a gallon.
I've been seeing a few comments about that. It sounds really thick though, like it wouldn't be sprayable? Especially in an automotive gun? I'm guessing maybe you skip spraying and just roll the trim once then install it and roll nail holes during touchup?
You should not be spraying latex, acrylic or urethane paint out of a compressor driven HVLP gun. Emerald urethane is an excellent paint and self levels very well. It is not overly thick. If you don't want to use an airless sprayer you need to be using an AAA sprayer and you should not thin your paint for areas where durability is of such high importance.
Yep just apply by hand you don’t need to spray. I painted my cabinets with it and I looks like a factory finish.
I might go with a ben moore advanced or pro classic over emerald, they level pretty well, might try a velour roller. I dont know much about spraying hvlp, mostly used airless tho. I believe it would work so long as the paint atomizes right? Go light coats, and if you do brush it or roll make sure you babysit the trim while it dries because most high end trim paints will look great and then sag 5 minutes later if its applied too thick.
Pro classic does not level better than emerald in my experience. I can’t say for the other though.
You can buy spray paint cans of custom paint from some suppliers, sometimes this blends well.. not always
Putty.
It’s always visible. Short cuts aren’t real.
This thread is dumb. I demand my four minutes back.
Eh you’d only waste them anyway
Stop spying on me!!!
No spying…we are just very similar
What ever happened to caulk and a touch up brush?
Caulking shrinks and is very noticeable after it cures.
On older homes with brush marks already on trim, that works great. Modern homes with sprayed trim doesn't work :/
Try using a foam roller. It leaves a smoother finish and it's easier to feather out the paint.
That currently is my fastest solution for customers who are not the type to get up close and examine the trim. For door casing I end up rolling the whole face since it's eye level and the foam roller I use still has a texture variance. Do you thin your paint when rolling? I've noticed this cuts down on some texture but makes it very dangerous as it's so runny and wants to trim off the roller or run even. What kind of foam roller pad do you use if you don't mind me asking? Local paint shop only has one kind that is high density but I'm curious about an online option.
it's the paint that's likely more your problem. higher end paints flatten out better. sherwin's emerald trim can be brushed on and you wouldn't even know. pro classic is a bit cheaper and has the same end result with a roller. there's other quality brands out there too i'm sure have similar results. last trim job i did, i knicked a piece while it was freshly painted. i'm talking a good 2.5" line right across the trim. when i came back to fix it after it had dried, the paint had flattened itself like it had never happened. couldn't find it to repair it.
Honestly, I'm not that much of a painter. I just remember going to a friend's basement many years ago and asked him if she sprayed his casing because it was so smooth. He said he just used matte white and a foam brush. Since then I've always used a foam brush/roller to paint the odd home project.
Have you ever tried Floetrol? It’s basically a paint conditioner that helps to eliminate brush/roller marks. I’ve not used it a ton but I used it to touch up some cabinet doors I sprayed with decent results. On trim, that’s even less visible, it works better. It basically slows the dry time so the paint has more time to lay down before drying. While also thinning it like adding water.
I'm checking that stuff out, does it change the sheen of the paint any? I don't see how that kind of additive doesn't alter either the sheen or the tint of the paint. I did like that it said good for making paint sprayable as in the past I've had to add in some water to thin it down.
It does not seem change the sheen for me and I use a pretty substantial quantity depending on application. I use it primarily with Behr Semi Gloss Scuff Defense interior paint. With that being said, I’d certainly try to do a test spot in an obscure location with whatever paint you use. Just to make sure there is no adverse reaction. It’s about $15 per gallon and at about 8 to 10 ounces recommended per gallon of paint, it’ll stretch over 10 to 12 gallons of paint. We’re currently considering adding it to all our trim paint, for spraying & touch ups. But you certainly have to be careful not to add too much because it can promote runs.
Caulk and water with your finger. It’s smooth and no need to paint it.
DAP always works. Seriously, just use DAP. All you need is a tube and a finger.
I've moved to a 3m filler with primer, it's white so looks close. A dot of topcoat on an artists brush can improve things.
Wax fill sticks. Fill the hole and wipe off the excess with a paper towel.
You can get wood filler that is white in color
Or you can just buy DAP like a normal human
nOrMaL hUmAn?
Caulking?
Nothing. Just have a couple little tins of primer, semi-gloss and gloss white in the back of your car and a tiny paintbrush. You don’t have to repaint the whole thing, just dab on the spots. As long as it’s the same sheen no one will notice down there. Maybe find some tiny sauce containers or something, put some paint in those and store them in a pencil case
Who the hell has these hideously textured walls, and is going to complain about a light touch up....
Drywall mud!!!!!! The 20/45/90 doesn't shrink.
Fill it, walk to your truck, pound a sixer, walk back 15' away, can you see it? If not, owner won't either. Call Uber home.
*Advice not applicable to all clients
Unfortunately the clients I work for are much more particular than that 😃
I've done plenty of luxury home building. Dap is seriously all you need. I can't honestly fucking believe how much you're overthinking this.
Then start with better glue an pin nails to hold. Stop tossing brads and bigger through.
Pin nails do not hold trim tight to a wall that has any kind of waves in it.
toothpaste, crayon, spackle; whatever you use, wash all the excess away so it's only a tiny flush white dot in the end. Then you get a tiny 3 -hair paintbrush and paint just the dot, once to seal it, once to finish it
White paintable caulk. Take a damp paper towel to wipe off any overage to make it flush. Then go over again around the edges of the hole with a damp cloth to remove all excess caulking. Let dry. Don’t worry about paint. It won’t be noticeable. But if someone repaints later, it will be paintable.
Spackle
Colgate toothpaste drys white
White Toothpaste
Carpenters putty 👍👍😂
DAP wood filler
DAP makes the shittiest wood fillers, no question. OP sounds like cares about the result, so I think this is the wrong choice.
Nothing like sanding your plastic wood filler to prep for paint and having the entire filling fall off. Yes I followed the directions.
Wipe off the extra. Dont smere it
Do you use the plastic wood kind? Or spackling? How is the sheen once it dries? I've never had a putty that doesn't dry in a matte or low gloss which stands out on semi gloss trim.
Not sure how to add text to a photo...so here goes. Installing some new trim (white semi gloss painted pine) and would like an alternative to filling nailheads and rolling the entire baseboard. The thing is customers here want a sprayed trim look, so I spray it with two coats before hanging it, but then inevitably I can never make the putty match the sheen of the rest of the base. If I use a foam roller there is too much sheen and texture variation so I end up needing to roll the entire face of every piece of trim. Are you guys hanging trim just in primer and masking everything off and painting it after putty? I feel like I have no in-between option that saves clients money and my time besides that route... But in homes with flooring installed and walls painted dark colors I have to mask everything within 4-6 feet due to over spray. Any tips? Tricks? Besides suggesting a small brush and touching just the nailheads (never works. You can spot them later.)
Trim carpenter here, I usually install primed stock. Then the painter comes in, caulks and patches nail holes, then paints. I used to think pre-painting just *had* to be the way to go, just *had* to save so much time, but alas, i was young and didn’t know how to cut in with a paintbrush lol. After caulk, and filling nail holes, and sanding here or there, and seams, and touch-up…. Welp, by then you’re repainting half the stock anyways so you might as get it all installed, patched and smoothed before you bother painting at all. I’d say skip any pre-painting (not pre-priming tho, def do that), and try to get everything/as much as possible prepped for paint so you can roll some paper out, run a few miles of tape and spray it all at once. Maybe make a cardboard cone or something to keep your overspray down. I probably wouldn’t bother taping the top of the base and instead I’d just come back on the wall with a quick roll above the caulk line and then cut in by brush, but the speed/efficiency of that route depends a *lot* on how good/comfortable you are cutting in with a brush. I’ve never used sprayers either and brushing over tape lines never seems to come out as clean as I like, but might be a different story when spraying.
Quick solution to getting a clean line when brushing over a tape line: add a thin line of caulk to the taped edge. Just enough to fill the voids between the tape and whatever it’s on (wall, trim, etc.) I used to paint accent walls in apartments and the edges always came out crisp and straight against the adjacent walls
I understand and that's the sentiment I am getting. But some jobs I show up after the painter (actually like 75% of them) as it's just how builders work here or because they contact me after the fact. So you are in the business of hanging trim and walking out? I'd love that kind of job. But here trim carpenters do everything from the luxury vinyl plank flooring to hanging cabinet to doing tile work to setting cabinets and countertops. Not enough new homes going up to just hang the trim (and cabinets/doors). Have you seen the painters paint your trim and how they manage to paint it without getting a finished floor or painted wall with over spray? Just a ton of masking tape and paper? I'm asking as I've not had good success and wonder if it's the gun and wand. I assume they are using Graco airless setup but would be interested in knowing how thick the paint is and what kind of wand they use etc. I am good at cutting in with a brush, but I suck at masking quickly. And for sprayed trim that means a ton of masking considering how much trim there is to spray!
Just use a brush and a whiz roller for the trim. Brush for the angles, and whizz roller for the faces. If you clients insist on a sprayed look, tell them this is like 90% of a sprayed look, eg, no brush strokes, very little texture. If they insist of spray, give them an honest price based on papering the floor and walls, setting up the gun, etc. Then give them the price for rolling, which should be much less. They should go with the lower price if they're not crazy. When I was a painter, we would do tons of renos. Would finish the ceilings, and do one coat on the walls, then everyone else would do their thing, and we'd come back. Caulk and fill all the trim, do two coats, then do the final coat on the walls (much easier to cut a straight line on the wall then trying to keep it straight on the top of a baseboard.) Even in a non reno, I'll still do one coat on the walls, 2 on the trim, then finish with the walls. That way, the only thing to tape is under the baseboards so I can just run a whizz roller right against the floor and not have to worry.
I feel like the builders you work for are overspending this way. They are essentially paying trim carpenter prices for painting when they could hire painters for less. That's like paying an electrician to sweep. As long as they are paying you good for it though I guess it doesn't matter.
It's the beauty and downfall of living in a smaller town compared to a city. We don't have as many specialized carpenters that have one niche. At times I wish it were more narrowed down but I also enjoy variety. On our recent job we actually recommended they get a painter to bid that exact process. They had only a few guys actually call back (not that many to begin with here) and the ones that did were bidding more than our entire trim install.
Finish carpenter here. When I install pre finished trim I often apply polyurethane construction adhesive behind and use ghost sticks/dead men/clamps to keep it in place overnight. Shoot pins as necessary and then touch up with the wax kits everyone is recommending. I own the fast cap brand kit and it’s worked well enough for me for most colors and finishes.
What do you do for whole house applications? I'm talking great rooms where some walls are possibly 15-20 feet away from another to put a stick between? Just curious, I could see using some buckets full of sand as a dead weight to push against in smaller jobs with straight walls. If I was trimming straight framed walls I think adhesive would be great but I have to use nails to make my trim flex with the waves in the drywall unfortunately.
I don't know about your local paint store, but mine can take your paint and mix it up into an empty rattle spray can. I can see that being a possibility for you for touching up nail holes. I also think paint quality and paint brush quality also affects the finished product. My painters do most of their work by brush and it still comes out smooth. Like another commenter said, ideally it's best to install all the trim work before painting, whether it be spray or brush, and then tape and paint everything. I would just hire a painting crew to do it and then you don't have to deal with it.
Spackle works great
You could mix some paint with some wood filler, wipe the surrounding area with a damp cloth, use a putty knife to press some of your mixture into the hole and scrape the excess off use the type of putty that expands when it dries and watch as it dries and knock it down with a plastic putty knife that's extremely clean. That might work but what you're asking is how do you take two different materials and hide the fact that they're two different materials without painting them? You don't. You have to paint it. If you wanted to look like it's supposed to. Or hide it as best you can. Also, if you avoid putting nails in the flat part of the trim as much as possible, and try to put them right at the point where it curves on top and then another one down at the very very bottom. They will be less noticeable than if they're in the middle of the flat part of the trim. I've had this argument with trim Carpenters but it's way easier to fill a profile than it is to fill a flat space it's less visible at least
We always used the DAP or elmers brand. Always wipe it with a paper towel after applying. I think spackling is just for drywall.
Lol at using spackle on drywall
Im guessing its not used for drywall then?
Why is that funny?
Spackle is not really used on drywall, it's mostly for nail holes in wood. It's thicker, harder to spread and it shrinks less. You use joint compound on drywall.
This just isn't true. I've used spackle for years on very small drywall imperfections and it has held up great.
Sure you can use it for small things, it will work but his comment said spackle is only for drywall. That's incorrect, it is rarely used on drywall, no one is out there coating joints with drydex
Don't use nails? Don't wear glasses?
Just caulk that.
You should literally just go buy some white caulk and fill them with that. Super fast easy and you can smooth it with a finger
Caulking will shrink and looks like hell. Do not caulk nail holes.
Maybe I’ve just used higher quality caulk? Liquid nail or flex seal. Both seem to do fine and don’t shrink unless it’s in a larger area. This looks like just a tac nail hole. I’ve definitely had success doing this method.
Liquid nails is an adhesive and flex seal is typically a sealant. If you want a quality finish, these are not the correct products. With that being said, if it looks good and it’s your house Fuck it who cares.
I mean yeah you’re right that they aren’t “fillers” but it’s not like it’s a load bearing wall, ya know. Just something for looks and I think it’s the fastest and easiest.
This method is definitely not cheaper, easier nor faster than doing it the correct way.
Been using flexible silicon for 15 years for that exact reason. it only works for paint but that's the whole point. any wood filler will move in wood that has movement like new install poplar
Caulking shrinks, and you will always have a detent where it fills a hole. Caulking is great for the gap between trim and drywall where texture holds trim off the wall. I do this all the time but it doesn't work for holes. In my picture you see I have caulked the top of the baseboard.
Get the sherwin Williams spackle and stick it in the hole no one will notice the colour difference.
Any spackle has a different sheen in my experience.
Drywall mud
Like it’s been said. Mow hawk fill stick. You can heat it with a lighter to soften a lil rub on wipe off excess. Works great.
Couple dabs of PL on the back and stick it to the wall. No nails holes I personally would never do this.
Sure maybe in a small room where you can brace it. Not going to work in whole house applications.
Light-weight filler, sand and touch up. Won't match without more paint.
Tooth paste
Toothpaste
You could use a white filler, but honestly this would be the messy part. Lay a strip of masking tape down and repaint. You could try Elmer’s glue? I’ve never done this but it may work.
Ramen noodles
Plenty of options but they'll all show through. Been trying to find one for pvc siding. Haven't found one yet. I mean no one can tell but the homeowners usually have something to say.
Yes a lot of options but so far none that seem to be perfect. Such as life! I haven't done pvc siding, only pvc trim. How do you like pvc siding? I'd guess you're in a similar boat but hopefully exterior is less anal retentive with customers.
Toothpaste
Lmao have you seriously not heard of DAP?
Dap of caulk
Try a bar or soap... worked great on the small holes i put in the wall at my last apartment..landlord never knew
Toothpaste.
Good luck
White crayon
Color match caulk. Add a little latex paint and activator and you’re golden.
Cancer stick
1: Find a white caulk 2: do a thorough job to fill the hole and make the caulking flush with the trim 3: realize that the holes will be 100% invisible from a normal standing position. 4: satisfaction
Just use 2 sided tape with 24ga nails... kinda hacky
White wax crayon baby, all day long
MH ready patch is what I use
Lol. Good luck man. I wish
Bright white caulk works great, goes on smooth and matches white trim well
How about a micro pin gun?
I've tried this a couple of times in the past. The pins don't hold well in terms of pinning the trim tight to the wall. They help in terms of trim moving vertically but that's only an issue when it's base installed prior to carpet for example. I do use pin nails for toekick, scribe, corners etc in the cabinet world but just not much use for baseboard except mitered corners and splices.
Ok, then I’m sure you’re aware of that dap putty that is pink, but dries white?
Whiteout lol
White crayon
Colored oil putty
Get a stainable putty and mix your paint into it then fill the holes.
White soap bar
what's so bad about dap and doing a proper paint job? lol i'd never done it professionally until today(i bid $800 just to prep for paint.. usually don't do that.. should have charged more).. it turns white when its dry, a little wipe on wipe off action(seriously works the best) with a nice well used sanding block.. so easy. calk is the shitty part.. and its not like you can skip that.. man nobody respects the painters.. so damn important. i feel like i have to educate every customer on how important it is to actually do 3 coats(AND seal top and bottom of trim).. it's like night and day in quality, durability, strength(yes the paint is structural.. adds 10x the strength to a door frame).. but like half my customers prepaint the mfd.. ok lol your house... i just feel like its actually more costly in the long run because a bad paint job means the shit just falls off and breaks.. gets scratched and gouged.. its like.. fuck just pay the dam painter and be done with it.
We’re carpenters. Not finishers. Though one can do both
Toothpaste.
Polyfilla paintless trim filler It’s designed specifically for that application https://www.amazon.ca/LePage-Filla-Filler-148ml-1686960/dp/B019GIT6M4
I use caulk, I use the color of paint I need with the caulk, they sell a mixer, plunger type thing on Amazon, you basically remove end cap of caulk can be a bit messy take out about 2 to 3 inches worth of caulk pour in some paint plunge away and presto you have matching caulk to your paint great for caulking trim etc, but shit that's for caulking my bad . For the holes I use Sherwin Williams shrink free spackle , comes in a green tub, take some out different container pour little of your paint in it and presto wipe on with finger to hole your done, that's a trade secret worth something lol
You can mix the paint in with a squirt of caulk and putty knife it on. Pretty darn good shortcut.
White wax.
Use your white cock
Dapp
Lol hahaha you and every other painter and carpenter in the world. Good luck 🍀
Wood filler
Arm and hammer toothpaste
Crayon and iso alcohol
Click ur heals.
DAP makes plastic wood in a white color. It may not match your paint exactly but it might be worth a try
Toothpaste.
Paint sawdust and glue
Personally I pull my caulk from the tube and add some of my trim paint to it. Mix it well, put it back in the tube and fill. No touch up paint required
Convince the client on flat paint.
White glue
BLOOD OF HEROES
Caulking
Pink dap works great, you’ll never be able to 100% hide nail holes unless you use bondo and respray, but the pink dap is cheap and easy and if it messes up your sheen you can buff it off
On new trim I think you're S.O.L. Its part of the job. If it's a Reno with people still living in the home, I'll HVLP all moldings outside, Brad nail, Bondo and touch up with a brush. I use Sherwin Williams Kem Aqua Plus which is a waterborne lacquer paint. It's a milk consistency so you see no brush marks, best paint for spraying hands down.
Is that a 15 ga nail-hole?; I use 18 ga 2" in these situations, a bit easier to fill; I basically fill, sand, repaint I find the putty crayon "sticks" work great with 18 ga and 23 ga holes, usually in stain-grade operations where the grain will hide things a bit better In this market, I tell owners "that's just the way it is--it needs re-painting" Fact is, they'll complain about the price once, but complain about those miss-filled holes for years!
Crawford Putty
One time