Give your home an upgrade with freshly painted or stained baseboard . We have all the confidential information you ask for a successful job .

Kelsey Hansen

It might take a backseat to agorgeous accent bulwark , but baseboard are a primal detail of most rooms . uniform throughout your home , baseboards make the natural stream from room to room seamless . When choosing new baseboards or upgrading honest-to-goodness ones , you have the pick to paint or stain them . Both are cracking options but ensue in two very unlike looks . Whichever you choose , we have you covered . Below , find our tutorial on how to paint baseboards , as well as instructions for stain baseboards .

Painting baseboard white

Credit:Kelsey Hansen

How to Paint Baseboards

What You Need

Step 1: Sand Baseboards

Sand the baseboards , whether bare or paint , with intermediate - grit sandpaper on a sanding block . Be certain to always sandpaper with the grain , not against it . More sanding may be required in rooms with in high spirits traffic or area with furniture that backs up to the wall . pass over aside the residue with a mainsheet fabric .

Step 2: Fill Imperfections

Use a putty tongue to occupy knots and nail holes with water - intermixture putty . Do n’t occupy about smoothing the putty down yet . permit dry . Lightly sand the filled spot until the control surface is even and wipe clean .

Step 3: Paint Baseboards

Protect the floor and rampart with painter ’s tape before painting . Apply paint to the Ellen Price Wood surface with short loose strokes across the wood grain , put down paint in both guidance . Finish with longsighted strokes in one direction only , cultivate with the wood grain . Use only the tips of the bristles to smooth out the paint .

How to Stain Baseboards

Step 1: Fill Imperfections and Sand Baseboards

apply a dough - typewood fillerfor modest nail hole on baseboards you plan to stain . Even filler made to accept stain never looks like real Grant Wood , so limit its use along the length of the baseboard . Filler can be go for before or after staining ; experiment to line up out which looks best . set out by tamping a small amount of the makeweight into the hole with your thumb . Smooth it with a putty knife . Wipe aside the excess with a rag dampen with water system or mineral spirits , depending on the type of putty ( crack the label ) .

Staining uninstalled baseboards is easier because you may finish them on a waistline - high study surface . sandpaper the skirting board with sanding paper or a sandpaper block and pass over dust particles forth with a shroud textile .

Step 2: Apply Stain

commingle the stain before using . With a clash or a lint - loose material , apply it with the grain . Slightly overlap your strokes so that you do n’t drop any spots . Let the mark set concord to the manufacturer ’s directions .

Step 3: Wipe Stain

Before the smirch begins to dry out , wipe the entire Earth’s surface with a lint - detached cloth to take away supererogatory stain . This forces the stain ’s pigment into the caryopsis , enhancing contrast .

Step 4: Seal and Finish

Use a disposable foam brush to give clean sealer or varnish , and work across the food grain . For the second coat , brush with the grain to avoid ridges . When it dry , establish the skirting board and fill the nail hole with Ellen Price Wood putty .

For a slick smooth polyurethan finish , let the first pelage of polyurethane dry good . Then light furbish the open with # 0000 steel wool or fine ( 320 - grit ) emery paper . duplicate this stair between any extra coats you practice .

Consider the Finish and Material

When choosing new baseboards , consider the finish . Whether it will bepainted , stained , or left natural determines the material selection . woodwind instrument is the traditional choice , but it ’s not your only option . If you ’re be after to paint the trim , manufactured material such as medium - denseness fiberboard ( MDF ) and plastic moldings ( include urethanes and other synthetics ) are good - looking , budget - conscious alternatives .

To relieve money when staining , quality wood base on the show of the grain , and stain it to your personal preference . Cherry , for good example , is an expensive Sir Henry Joseph Wood , but you could get a corresponding look by corrupt birch tree and applying a cherry grime . The caryopsis and hardness of cherry and birch are like .

Sanding baseboard

Credit:Kelsey Hansen

Wood filler

Credit:Kelsey Hansen

Painting wood baseboard white

Credit:Kelsey Hansen

Sanding baseboard

Credit:Kelsey Hansen

Staining wood baseboard

Credit:Kelsey Hansen

Wiping wood stain with microfiber cloth

Credit:Kelsey Hansen

Sealing wood stain with brush

Credit:Kelsey Hansen