I'm replacing the narrow, plain casings on a couple of bedroom doors with wider, contoured ones. The replacements came primed, but it looks like they need another coat because scuffing reveals some of the wood underneath. I've got questions, if any of you can help!
- I'm trying to decide the order in which to paint and hang the moldings. If I paint first and then hang, I figure I'll have to fill in over the nails with with wood filler, then spot prime, then spot paint. Will all the follow-up spot painting stand out? Or I can hang them as is and prime and paint them on the wall. I'm also thinking that if I paint first, then when I get them on the wall, unless the edges of the molding are absolutely flush there'll be a noticeable gap between the wall paint and the molding paint (which are different colors).
- I noticed that the old moldings were held in place by both finishing nails (into the drywall) and staples (into the wood framing). Is that necessary? Can I use nails in both? I don't know how to countersink staples. I wasn't planning on the expense of renting either a nail gun or a staple gun.
- I found metal wafers inserted into slots in the corners to join adjacent moldings. Is that necessary?
- Am I likely to need to apply caulk either between the moldings or along their edges? If so, then does that make "paint after" the answer to question 1 above?