Every carpenter knows that it pays to have the painters in a position of feeling happily indebted to you. To that end, here’s my tip.
Whenever you are applying window casing, base or any other woodwork that is not going to be painted, staple strips of plastic sheeting to the surface that will end up behind the trim, as shown in the drawing. Thin plastic is fine for this — I use 1-mil. or 2-mil. dropcloths from the paint store. The plastic should extend a foot or so beyond the trim.
The painter can now wrap the plastic over the trim and fasten any additional masking tape to it. This step eliminates the painter’s need to mask the trim painstakingly. Having saved a lot of time, said painter will likely see to it that your job looks its very best.
When the paint has dried, the painter simply runs a sharp utility-knife blade along the crease between the wall and the casing to cut away the plastic.
—Jeffrey S. Hill, North Bend, WA
Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #113
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That’s interesting. Even better is staining the trim outside before it’s installed.