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Caulking? Before or after priming

CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a

2 years ago

Hi all!

I am finishing up trimming out my 2500SF house. Yes, windows, doors, base, you name it. After 16 years, I am finally in the (forgive me) home stretch of details.

So... some of the trim I've used is pre-primed, some not. I've used a shellac primer then filler then more shellac primer to kill the knots that were in some of the unprimed pieces. I want to do this once and hopefully, right.

So... before I start painting -- which is far from my favorite part -- Will the best step be to prime the wood first, then caulk, or can I just go ahead, calk and give things the final primer coat.

One nice thing about taking things slow, between hot summer and turning on the inside heat, is I can see where the caulk has shrunk open. I would probably never go back and re-do that if I didn't have to 1st time caulk some of this trim!

Thanks for your advice!

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Comments (5)

PRO
PPF.
2 years ago
Prime first. Use a good caulk like Big Stretch.
bpath
2 years ago
(I’m no help but I’m very happy to ”see” you again. I was wondering how it was all coming along.)
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CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
Original Author
2 years ago
PPF, thanks. I thought that might be the case. I just finished the wall color on the tops of the (primed) baseboards. Gotta sand the nail holes and it'll get a nice coat of paint.

BPath, I just saw you in Kitchens and was thinking the same thing. It's been a long, long time.

Through now almost 16 years, I have only 3 big projects left. They're going to wait!

Had to take much of this year off due to a cancer thing, but since I viewed that as a major inconvenience, I think I kicked it out of my body and am back in the saddle.

I was forced to invest $20K to trim out my house, put in a bathroom, and finish my now-enclosed back porch to qualify for a refi which should pay for those remaining projects. Kitchen continues to evolve. I have finished 3 bedrooms, my mudroom, living room, and den. All of this, of course, still requires trim painting. The good news is that I still love my fixtures, etc, that I've picked up over the years. I've even begun selling my lumber, door and window stash on Craig's List. Yeah! Don't need everything anymore.

So I'm off to sand and prime more trim. Gotta love the ease a Craftsman style goes up.

Hope you're doing well, too! :)
User
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Prime and do first finish coat on the stock, then cut and apply molding. Then caulk and do final finish paint coat in place. It saves the shoulders and back to do much of the the painting on the ground rather than on a scaffold or ladder.
CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
Original Author
2 years ago
I did much of the knot filling and sanding that way, but needed to get it up for the installer. What I know now is to definitely paint as much as I can beforehand.

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