Replies

1. 
   DustinT | Mar 23, 2006 04:24am | #1

   You are either scribing/sanding/filing/rasping to fit, or using filler.  Gaps where trim meets drywall (or doesn't, in this case) can be skim coated sometimes with joint compound. 

   Dustin

2. 
   Jer | Mar 23, 2006 04:30am | #2

   You stain the entire house...cieling, walls, floors and the outside to match the crown. 

    

   Seriously, they make colored caulk if needs be, or you just use paint grade caulk right up to the wood.  I like to mask off with the painters blue tape on the wood, get the caulk in even and tight and then crefully peel the tape off.

   Or...if the wall is really wookied, you could spackle straight, flat and smooth right up to the newly installed prfinished wood, again using the blue tape.  This is my preferred method.

   Or...spackle-plaster first totally flat, then pre stain and finsh your wood and then install it.  Theoretically that should look the best but it ain't necessarily so.

   Always use tape on stain grade stuff.  I'm pretty picky about those uneven gaps and find that even after all the years of doing it and looking for the holy grail of the carpenter...the short cut, when I spend the time to painstakingly to it right, I always end up happy that I did.

1. 
   Sailfish | Mar 23, 2006 05:22am | #4

   That made me laugh, funny.

    

   Well that would explain the 'talk' about a good finish carpenter. You get some nice oak trim/base/tc, you don;t want some wookie not taking his time to finish, scribe, cope etc correctly.

   ANd it explains, I imagine, why they get paid so well

    

   good stuff-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

    

   WWPD

2. 
   Ragnar17 | Mar 23, 2006 07:27am | #5

   Or...if the wall is really wookied, you could spackle straight, flat and smooth right up to the newly installed prfinished wood, again using the blue tape.  This is my preferred method.

   Jer,

   Since using prefinished trim seems to be your preferred method, mind if I ask you a question?  How do you tackle filling the nail holes after the prefinished trim is installed?  What do you do to color-match the fill to the stain, and what do you do about topcoating the fill?

    

1. 
   DaveRicheson | Mar 23, 2006 01:12pm | #6

   Don't know how Jer does it, but I use an assortment of colored putty, and some universal colorant from SW. By mixing the various putties together, like kneeding clay, you can get real close to the stain or wood color. For those that are still off to much to suit me, I add a drop of whatever colorant I think it needs and work it into the putty. Trial and error gets me so close you have to be standing real close to find the puddied holes.

   BTW prefinished trim, to me, means stained, sealed, and one coat of final finsh. The trim goes up, gets holes filled and then the final finsh top coat is applied. that keeps the final finish coat consistant, without shinny or dull spots at the filled nail holes .

    

   Dave

1. 
   Ragnar17 | Mar 24, 2006 02:05am | #8

   BTW prefinished trim, to me, means stained, sealed, and one coat of final finsh

   Thanks for the explanation, Dave.  It's the one coat of final finish that I have also found unavoidable, even with "prefinished" trim.  I was wondering if I was missing something.

    

2. 
   Jer | Mar 23, 2006 02:10pm | #7

   I have a whole kit of different colored hard wax fillers, like the stuff they give you for a touch up kit with new kitchen cabs.  If you get the heatgun out, you can mix up small bits of these waxes together for exactly the right color.  More often than not though, one of the colors in your collection will be right.  Minwax makes them in pencil form....theirs is rather soft  though.  I got mine from Woodworkers Supply.  I like to use as small a guage nail as I can and nail only as much as I need when it comes to stained material.  This stuff also smooths out well and cleans up  nice with a rag dampened with mineral spirits.  You must only do this after the final coat of finish.  This is one way. 

    The other is to stain & seal the wood first, then use a colored wood putty that can be wiped even with the  surface, then a final coat or two of finish is applied.

   Or you can use stainable wood putty before you even sand the raw wood to stain, the same way most floor finishers do.  The only thing about that is you have to make sure you sand the piece well enough to get all the "haze" that is left behind in the pores of the wood around the nail hole. 

   There's a million finishes, and a million and one ways to do it. Takes time and practice is all, but there's no reason you can't do a top rate job the first few times around if you follow instructions and are careful.

1. 
   Ragnar17 | Mar 24, 2006 02:13am | #9

   Jer --

   Thanks for the info.  If I'm understanding you correctly, it sounds like one method you use (first paragraph) omits a "final" coat after the nail holes are filled.  Is the product good enough that you don't have any problems with the sheen of the filler not matching the sheen of the rest of the trim?

3. 
   Jer | Mar 23, 2006 04:31am | #3

   Or as Dustin says...scribing too.  I forgot, I do a lot of that.

4. 
   hvtrimguy | Mar 24, 2006 05:16am | #10

   That is the real thing right there. I've heard a lot of carps say tey can trim but when it comes to prefinished stuff , that's when a person can shine or drown. I've installed kitchens with prefinished trim for years and all I can say is scribe, belt sand, do what you must to get it to lay nice and fit tight. Caulk is not an option. Wax crayons do wonders if the color is right. You can even mix them if you heat them up and knead them together. Watch the grease and rubbing though that will change the sheen of the finish. Spray trim with cabinet magic first and the mash in the wax crayon and wipe off the excess. Tile cailks work good on wall to trim seams. Lots of colors there. Good luck, be patient, buy extra.

   Jason

1. 
   Jer | Mar 24, 2006 06:01am | #11

   With prefinished trim I totally agree that the cutting and scribing is everything. Make sure your miter saw is tuned and accurate, and blockplanes are sharp enought to shave with. I like to use hot glue at times to hold the work pieces on sufaces while the construction adhesive dries and only use two 23 guage nails to hold. That way there is almost nothing to fill. 23 guage nails are great for holding while the glue dries.

1. 
   hvtrimguy | Mar 25, 2006 06:02am | #12

   Jer, What's your micro pinner of choice? I'm actually in the market for one. Senco?Thanks,Jason

1. 
   Jer | Mar 25, 2006 08:50am | #13

   The PC was on sale and I bought.  It works just fine but I'm sure there are others that would consider something different.  So far it's been great.