How to Repair Base Moldings
- 1). Scrub the base molding with soap and water to remove marks made by shoes and furniture as well as dust build up.
- 2). Fill in dings and scratches with wood putty. Let it dry for several hours and sand it smooth with fine sandpaper.
- 3). Paint over marks that won't come off and areas where you repaired the surface with wood putty. Use a paint that matches the rest of the trim. Typically it is a high gloss paint.
- 4). Pry off unrepairable base molding and shoe molding with the help of a prybar.
- 5). Measure the section that you removed and cut new lengths of molding to match. If it is in a corner, you will need to cut the trim at a 45 degree angle to create mitered edges that will fit together. An adjustable circular saw will help make these cuts accurate.
- 6). Paint the new trim to match the rest and set it aside to dry for several hours.
- 7). Nail the molding to the area where you removed the old molding. After nailing them in use the tip of a spare nail to tap the attached nails slightly below the surface. This is called counter-sinking. Fill in the holes above the nails with wood putty and let it dry.
- 8). Sand the putty smooth with the surface of the trim and then paint over the wood putty to cover it up.
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