Painting and Staining Baseboards

Intro

To save money when staining, select wood based on the appearance of the grain, and stain to personal preferences. Cherry, for example, is an expensive wood, but you can get a comparable look by buying birch and applying a cherry stain. The grain and hardness of cherry and birch are very similar.

Prestart Checklist

Time
About 45 minutes total (not including drying time) to sand, finish, and fill holes on an 8-foot length

Tools
Sandpaper (fine and medium grits), sanding block, tack cloth, putty knife, paintbrush, lint-free cloths, disposable foam brushes, #0000 steel wool

Skills
Using sandpaper and a paintbrush

Prep
Fill knotholes, sand

Materials
Baseboard, wood filler, mineral spirits or paint thinner, paint, stain, clear polyurethane or varnish

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Painting baseboards: Step 1

Sand baseboards, whether unfinished or painted, with medium-grit sandpaper on a sanding block. Wipe away residue with a tack cloth.

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Painting baseboards: Step 2

Fill knots and nail holes with water-mix putty. Let dry. Lightly sand filled spots and wipe clean.

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Fill Knots and Nail Holes

For small nail holes on baseboards you plan to stain, use a dough-type wood filler. (Since even filler made to accept stain never looks like real wood, limit its use along the length of the baseboard.) Filler can be applied before or after staining; experiment to find out which looks best. Begin by tamping a small amount of the filler into the hole with your thumb. Smooth it with a putty knife. Wipe away the excess with a rag dampened with water or mineral spirits depending on the type of putty (check the label). If you plan to paint the baseboard, water-mix putty excels at filling shallow depressions. The putty sets up quickly, so don't mix more than you can use in 10 minutes. To fill cracks around a knot, mix the putty to a pastelike consistency and force it into all the cracks with a putty knife. Feather out the patch to the surrounding wood. Once the wood filler or putty dries, sand the surface smooth.

Painting baseboards: Step 3

Protect the floor and wall with painter's tape before painting. Apply paint to the wood surface with short light strokes across the wood grain, laying down paint in both directions. Finish with longer strokes in one direction only -- working with the wood grain. Use only the tips of the bristles to smooth out the paint.

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Staining baseboards: Step 1

It's easier to stain uninstalled baseboards as you can finish them on a waist-high work surface. Sand baseboards with sanding paper or a sanding block and wipe dust particles away with a tack cloth.

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Staining baseboards: Step 2

Mix stain before using. With a brush or a lint-free cloth, apply it with the grain. Slightly overlap your strokes so you don't miss any spots. Let the stain set according to the manufacturer's directions.

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Staining baseboards: Step 3

Before the stain begins to dry, wipe the entire surface with a lint-free cloth to remove excess stain. This forces the stain's pigment into the grain, enhancing contrast.

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Staining baseboards: Step 4

To apply clear sealer or varnish, use a disposable foam brush and work across the grain. For the second coat brush with the grain to avoid ridges. Once dry install baseboard and fill nail holes with wood putty.

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