How To Paint Skirting Boards With Carpet

How to paint skirting boards with carpet? Thankfully there are a couple of solutions to overcome this problem. While the first option is really the easiest to avoid any mistakes it may not be the most practical.

This is a common problem most people encounter, where you are trying to freshen up your home interior but you’d rather not replace the carpet. But during the process, you realise the skirting boards around the room are in desperate need of a new coat of paint.

3 Options To Painting Skirting Boards With Carpet

There are really three main options you can choose from as a solution to this problem. Whatever option you decide to implement is up to you.

1. Pull Up The Carpet Before Painting

The best option to avoid any paint splatter or any lines of newly painted gloss/satin lying on the carpet is to pull up the carpet around the skirting boards during the painting process. While this option may not be the easiest due to the carpet being tact down. You will eliminate every chance of paint sticking the carpet with this method.

To implement this method simply pull up the carpet and fold it over during the painting process. Once completed and the paint has dried fully you can put the carpet back down around the skirting board and re-tact it. While this method is the best way to avoid paint splatter it may not be the most practical solution as you will need to move furniture and pull up the carpet which may not be possible.

There are other options although that don’t involve pulling the carpet up to paint.

2. Mask The Area Between The Carpet And Skirting Board

The second option is to mask the area between the carpet and the skirting board using a 2″+ width masking tape to separate the carpet from the skirting board. This may be the most difficult way for a painting novice to complete but it’s a quick, cheap and efficient method if you’re looking to get the job done in a timely manner.

The Tools You Will Need

Before you start painting make sure you are equipped with everything you need to make the process go as smoothly as possible. You won’t want to go searching for tools when you are covered in paint.

How To Paint Skirting Boards Using Masking Tape

1. Clean the carpet / Hoover the carpet – Ensure there is no dust or particles on the carpet that could make contact with wet paint. This is important as any dust that reaches the paint could spoil the finish.
2. Make sure you have a wide set masking tape – the larger the better. This will make up the distance between the exposed carpet and the skirting boards where you will be applying the paint. So it makes sense to use masking tape with a large width to protect the carpet from paint.
3. Start in the corner – Start by placing the end of the masking tape in the nearest corner to where you are going to start painting.
4. Leave a lip – Use the masking tape roll as a guide and unroll the tape sticking it down along the scripting board. But leave an overlap on the skirting board. This is important for the next step.
5. Push your fingers down – Once the masking tape is down in place move your fingers along pushing down between the carpet and the skirting board. This will allow you to paint lower on the skirting board while protecting the carpet from paint residue.
6. Repeat this process around the skirting board – Carry on with the above steps all around the room when preparing the area for painting. Use the scraper to cut the masking tape evenly when reaching the corners of the skirting boards.
7. Paint the skirting boards – Once you have the masking tape down you can safely paint around the room avoiding any paint reaching the carpet for the best finish possible.
8. Leave the masking tape down if re-applying a coat – If you notice that you are going to need multiple coats, that’s usually the case to get the best finish possible. Leave the correct amount of time before re-applying a second coat. Check the paint details about the re-application time.
9. Remove the masking tape once the paint is dry – Make sure that the paint is dry before you remove the masking tape from the carpet. If you are using an oil-based paint be aware that it will take longer for the paint to dry. If you are using a water-based paint the drying time will be shorter.

3. Use a Carpet Shield Instead Of Masking Tape

The third and final option if you are looking to paint skirting boards with carpet is to use the same method above but instead of using masking tape you can use a carpet shield. A carpet or paint shield acts as a separator between the skirting board and the carpet.

While this process will give you a wider margin of error as the carpet shield will be a lot wider than any masking tape that you can implement it comes with an added cost for the material. It’s a good option if you have a lot of rooms to complete and you feel more comfortable with a larger distance between the skirting boards and the carpet.

It may seem like a better option than masking tape and for paint novices, it does offer a bit of extra protection from slips and spills if you don’t have a steady hand.

Do you need the best paint for skirting boards? You can have a look at our guide here.