Hi folks,

Just wanted to ask others opinions on this issue. I know most painters would say to repaint the entire surface when dealing with semi or full gloss paints, but I just wanted to know if there was a trick to blending semi gloss touch ups?

In my early paint days, I used to feather out the paint over nail heads or marks on the wood, but of course, as it sets, you see dry wave lines where the paint has been "dragged" and dries too quickly to leave a smooth gloss skin.

So, in recent times, I ditched the feathering approach and went with a smooth touch up patch without feathering, which doesn't show any "non gloss" issues, but can be singled out due to a slightly heavier gloss finish.

Is there a trick that I haven't yet discovered? ... I've even heard of some amateur painters try wetting the surface before applying the gloss touch ups? .. Hmm???

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My current approach ..

Installed pre primed/semi glossed 1x3 baseboards and quarter round mounted above it (gives a 2-3mm mitred look) to the finished baseboards. Countersunk all nail heads and filled with Elmer's white wood filler. Sanded with 200 grit then wet/dry sand paper, then applied touch ups with KILZ white primer.
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So, now facing the semi gloss finishing touch ups, which pretty much takes me back to my original question above.

Anyway, keen to hear feedback on this from more seasoned painters than myself!

All the best,
Cal

 

Sand your primer once it's dry. Then repaint only the face of the 1x3 and quarter round that you touched up.

 

Sorry, I may have missed that bit out. Indeed, I always sand between all counts of paint and wood filler.

So in other words, I pretty much have to paint the entire surface/length of the baseboard (or face as you stated in your reply), where semi-gloss touch up will always show surface imperfections, right?

All the best,
Cal

 

It is normal to paint before installation of the trim then fill and smooth nail holes. However, the final coat is a complete paint. The time savings is that you don't have to spend as much time cutting in the trim as that area already has a coat on it. You only have to hit the main body. The edge relatively close to the floor or wall will blend into the final coat. Spot painting will only work in some circumstances where visibility is limited by furniture and other objects.

 

I agree! while prepriming and even applying 1 coat of enamel prior to installation can speed things up - the final coat should always be applied after installation! As noted above you may not need to paint all the way to the edges, just a quick coat over the majority.

How well enamel touch ups work depends a lot on the lighting and angle of sight. The slicker the substrate the harder it is to get by with touching up enamels.

 

Makes a lot of sense czizzi.

I was pretty much resigned to the fact that especially in the case of semi-gloss or full gloss, spot/patch painting is near impossible to accomplish seamless results. I mainly wanted to rule out any "near-perfect" tricks that may be out there before committing to the final approach.

So .... based on your feedback, I will go with the option to paint the entire length of the baseboard & quarter round, essentially leaving a thin edge top/bottom, which wasn't disturbed previously with filler/sanding marks etc.

Many thanks for the feedback,
All the best,
Cal

 

Also, thanks for all replies, especially to
marksr, as his post was made as I was concluding my last one.

Indeed, hiding those imperfections by patching sounds like the wrong way to go, especially on the quarter round, which would show up every blemish as natural light hits it.

For future projects, I may now switch to priming, then 1 light coat of semi-gloss, leaving the final semi gloss coat for after installation/touch ups/finishing.

All the best,
Cal