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Fixing cracked caulk/paint on woodwork

15 years ago

Hi,

Thanks to all the pros who post here and help us all learn!

We moved into an 18 yr old home this summer. Walls and trim have been painted in the last 2 years, I am guessing. The trim was once stained wood and is now painted white. The paint is cracking and pulling away from the walls in places: at joint miters, and where the molding touches the wall, both floor and crown. Much of the paint work is messy, so proper prep may not have been done.

If I repaint the trims, what must I do to fix the cracking and pulling away of the painted trim from the wall? Is there a flexible, paintable caulk that can join the trim surface to the drywall surface, and move without cracking during seasonal fluctuations in humidity? We live in the upper Midwest and get cold, dry winter weather and a reasonable amount of summer heat. We have forced air heat and it does get pretty dry in the winter. We have a whole house humidfier and use a portable floor model in the upstairs. But still pretty dry air and probably contributes to the paint moving on the trims.

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Comments (2)

Faron79
15 years ago
Hi Jkpita!
Well...I hope you have good knee-pads!

Cold winters huh....I wouldn't know...Fargo only got to -30 this morning; and I think Bismarck, ND got to -35+!!!
So, if Fargo hits 100 this summer, I can honestly say...where else on "G*ds-green-earth" can you have 130+deg. variation in ONE year...???
(I can't understand why there's movement in your structure?!!?)
;-)
Crikey!!!

Seriously though,
* I'd lightly scrape along the cracking/lifting areas with a putty-knife to see how easily it pops off.
* You've GOTTA get rid of loosely bonded layers, or your new paint will literally pull-off the old.
* I can't remember what it's called, but find some real dense/hard foam. Somewhat like the foam-insulation sheets.
* These can be trimmed to make a "sanding-profile" block that will follow your trims' curves.
* Or, just use flexible sanding-sponges.
* If you have sharp ridges, just use your putty-knife carefully to press the paper along these ridges, to help bring back any "definition-lines".

NOW-
When you're sanded-down to smooth/sound trim...AND all dust is removed...
* Haul out a good brush and primer!
* There's NO reason to use oil for ANYTHING here.
* 123 primer from Zinsser, C2-One by C2 are two very good ones. Ask at your stores what their best Latex primers are.
* If you're REAL fussy, you can lightly sand these primers, but you've gotta wait 1/2-a-day or so b4 they're dry enough to sand nicely.

Now for the joint-caulking!
DAP has some good paintable caulks, but ask at your stores, Dynaflex 230 is a great all-around caulk; Polyseamseal is too; and, inquire about their "painters-caulks" too.
* Big-Stretch brand caulking is good too, IF you have unusually frequent movement.
* Paintover times vary here...read the tubes.

ONE TIP: Cut a SMALL opening, 1/8", and PUSH the gun away from you when applying. This motion gets the caulk into cracks better, instead of "barely sitting on top".
* Then, use a wet finger, damp sponge, or other tool, to smooth off your bead.

>>> Some painters prime b4 this caulking-step, some after. I'll completely defer to them!!!

>>> For filling outside corner wood-mitre's, use a wood filler that hardens, and can be sanded/primed/painted. Caulk is OK for inside-corners.

FINALLY...
You've got beautifully cleaned, de-flaked, sanded, smooth, primed, & caulked (whew!) trim THAT WILL HOLD & DISPLAY YOUR TWO TOPCOATS OF PAINT BEAUTIFULLY!!

(after all this...don't skimp on the Finish-paint OR the brushes!!!)
Option- try adding some of XIM's Latex Xtender for more open-time when painting. It helps leveling too.

Faron
jkpita
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you, Faron!

Any thoughts on how to get a crisp caulk line? Should I use tape? I can paint without tape but caulk is not my forte!
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@ paintguy, I'd agree that the mistake should not have been made, however, everyone makes mistakes from time to time. Maybe there was a new guy on the crew that was trying to be ambitious but used the wrong caulk, who knows. That said, unless specified contractually, the methods used to achieve the final product as advertised and paid for are at the discretion of the contractor, provided that they do not step outside the boundaries of industry standard practices. I'd strongly agree that some discussion between contractor and homeowner would be advisable here to determine to pros and cons of each approach, however most times the contractor does have the "right to cure" at his or her discretion when it comes to methods... The best case scenario of course is when both the contractor and homeowner agree on the best solution to fix an issue, which in my experience actually happens more often than not when dealing with a reputable company.... Now if you paid this guy cash under the table and he was pounding PBR's while he installed your windows on a Sunday, that all goes out the window!
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