Question on caulking gaps on baseboard molding

[Mikepier]

I have a few pieces of baseboard molding I need to install and the walls are less than perfect. There are a few bumps in tha wall which means I will have to caulk the gaps on top. These moldings will be painted white. My question is after you caulk, are you suppose to paint the caulk white( same as molding) or are you suppose to paint it the color of the wall?

[dadiOH]

Whichever is easier. There are no baseboard caulk color police.

[Paul Franklin]

I usually use a putty knife to smooth the caulk flush with top of the baseboard and leave a sharp line at the wall. The I paint the base and caulk the same color.

I think what looks bad is if the wall color ends up on any of the horizontal surface at the top of the base. But as previous poster said, it comes down to what looks good to *you*.

Paul F.

[Mikepier]

The reason I ask is that when I did a few searches, it suggested painting the caulk the color of the wall. If thats the case, then I would have to repaint my entire walls since the paint I used 3 years ago is old and would not match, and even if I got a fresh batch from the paint store, I doubt it would match. It seems easier just to paint the caulk white.

[DanG]

Here's a novel idea. Use painter's white latex caulk and don't paint anything.

[Don Phillipson]

1. If your paint changed colour in the can in three years, this suggests you bought the cheap stuff in the first place . . .
2. Instead of caulking, the easiest way to fill baseboard gaps is by laying another strip of moulding, as small as you can obtain, just wide enough to fill or hide the gap, whether along the wall or along the floor. These thin strips can be conveniently painted before fastening in place, whether you choose the baseboard colour or the wall colour.

[Phisherman]

Use the same color caulk as the molding. If need be, paint the caulk the same color as the molding.