Hi
I am in the process of putting in about 300 feet baseboards in a condo for a lady. I have done this before in my own properties but I am more concerned when someone else is paying the bill.

Baseboards are white (I pre-painted with Acrylic) and I used an airnailer.

Typically, I take white paintable caulk and fill nail holes. I lightly file the outside corners until uniform and put in caulk where necessary. On inside corners I caulk to fill any gaps. I then paint over all the caulk. Seems to look good. Never any complaints but I'm sure there is a more professional method.

I have a couple of bedrooms left. Any suggestions?

 

Sounds about right
I don't actually "caulk" the nail holes, I putty them
I use this stuff in a small tub and a small putty knife

 

Thanks Slickshift. I dont actually like the caulk because it doesnt fill flush with the surface but I use it because I don't need to sand it before painting. Does the putty sit pretty flush (I assume it doesn't need sanding)

 

The reason for not using caulking to fill nail holes is because it shrinks and does not make the hole disappear. Painters putty is sandable but if applied correctly needs none.

 

I follow the same method as mark describes. You get a smoother finish with the putty in the nail holes then caulk. However, the caulking is perfect for the corners.

 

Just so there is no misunderstanding -
caulking is for joints - the edge along the wall, corners where to pieces come together' etc.
Putty is for nail holes and various imperfections in the wood [holes, cracks, etc]

 

Thanks group,
I went to the hardware store today and asked for painters putty. They never had any but three people there told me to just use caulk (they were amatuers like me ) . However, I'm on the same page as you so I will head to the "paint" store tomorrow for putty and will continue to use caulk in corners etc.

 

I've always debated whether to caulk the top of the baseboards and seldom do because I have had occasion to remove baseboards that have been caulked and it makes a mess of the wall and the baseboards.
What do you usually do? If you have white baseboards, do you use clear caulk or white?

 

If there is a space, I really need to to make it look good
I use paintable caulk, before I paint

 

I always apply caulk when there is gap, or else you see a black shadow.

 

If and when base needs to be removed all you have to do is take a utility knife and slice the caulk along the wall. You can then remove the base easily. Caulked trim always looks neeter and more professional.

 

Thanks everyone, your advice will be heeded and applied . Baseboards truly do look better when caulked.
PS: my issue with removing caulked BBs has been resolved. I do utilize a utility knife before removing (I'm not too skilled though) but I always have a caulk ridge on the wall and some caulk on the bbd. Then when I put the bbds back on, the wall ridge is usually too high or too low depending on the new flooring I have installed (i.e laminate over lino) and the ridge interferes with the bb replacement. Also the ridge on the bbd looks terrible.
I'm probably the only one that can't figure out a decent solution.

 

mjd2k

After you cut the caulk and remove the baseboard, take a few minutes and remove the caulking that is both on the wall and the trim. It usually comes off fairly easy and then you have a fresh slate to start over with.

 

Thank you Mark

 

Using painters tape around the the caulking area also helps keep the job looking professional.