Whats the best way to paint skirtings when carpets are already in place? masking tape? Should I aim to paint slightly above the carpet to avoid paint getting on the carpet (leakage) My last house was natural wood skirtings so was never an issue.
All these things are ok as long as you wipe them clean each time. Too much faffing about for my liking. I just cut in with a half inch brush splayed out so the bristles slip down behind the carpet pile.
Last time I had a few strips of cardboard cut from cereal packets. Surprisingly effective and easy to use. Just don't slop the paint on over generously.
If you tuck a proper decorators dust sheet under the outer edge you can just slip them out and move along to the end of the row. I have (somewhere, haven't seen 'em for a while...) the B&Q set, you get half a dozen which is enough to lay along a single wall in one hit. I'd put them at 40mm or maybe 50mm wide though, much more than the average venetian blind slat.
I simply use a good quality, wide masking tape along the whole wall-to-carpet edge, pushing the edge of the tape down to the bottom of the carpet with a wide broadknife - and then cover the whole floor area with good, old fashioned dust sheets.
The whole lot then stays in place until I have finished the rubbing down, filling, painting and wall papering [1] - and the masking tape only being lifted when the paint is quite dry.
A bit of 'faffing' about I agree, but it's a method that has served me well over many years and seems far better than all the 'patent' tools that have come and gone that were 'supposed' to keep the paint off everything (and never did for me).
[1] Both SWMBO and myself, prefer a wallpaper finish to that of emulsion (or hell forbid, an artex finish [shudder]).
That's the sort of thing that my dear old mum used to use. She used to call it a "George", but I haven't the slightest idea why, and she's no longer alive to ask. SWMBO does all our painting, and she just uses a small brush, and a deal of care.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.