Did you just build or remodel your home?  Are there parts of the process that maybe didn’t end up like you were expecting?  We, at Rohde Painting, get a lot of phone calls from people that just had painted trim installed in their homes and they are not happy with how it looks.  Here are some things that those people are noticing.  

1. “Every spot the trim had a nail put in is still visible.” (Whether it was filled with caulk and has sunk in, or it was filled with a color putty to match and is not quite the same color.)
2. “When I look down at the baseboards I notice the crack between the wall and trim gets larger here and smaller there.”

In these cases, the trim was painted before installation.  Typically, the reason you are still able to see the nail holes is because the holes were not filled with the proper product, or at the proper time of the process. For example, if caulk was used to fill the nail holes, it will shrink or sink in allowing the hole to still be visible.  If a color putty was used, the color may not be the exact color of the paint used on the rest of the trim, causing you to still see where the holes are.  Also, as time goes on that color putty will collect dirt and grime and probably not clean up as well as the painted areas of trim.  The reason for seeing the variance in crack size between the wall and trim is due to not applying caulk in those areas.  Nobody is perfect, which means there is never a case where every wall in a house is completely straight.  

Both issues could have been prevented if the proper process was done.  Trim, even if painted before installation, should always have at least one more finish coat applied after installation.  The reason being, you can then use the proper filler to fill the nail holes, and caulk those unsightly cracks, before the final coat of paint is applied.  We also recommend sanding before that final coat of paint to level out the filler used for the nail holes and to knock off any bumps or defects that might be on the trim.  To get the best result, filler and caulk should be applied after primer coat and before all top coats of paint.  If done in that process, your trim will look seamless and beautiful for years to come.  If you have a painted trim project coming up and need a quote and a few more questions answered, please give us a call at 608-783-6237, or check us out online here.