How To Paint Your Skirting Boards
Crisp white skirting finishes a room off nicely and the secret to a clean line is in the filling and masking before you paint.
The short answer
To paint skirting boards, fill any holes and gaps, treat knots in bare wood with knotting solution, sand lightly and wipe off the dust. Mask the wall and floor, apply a primer or undercoat, then brush on satinwood or gloss with the brush half loaded, working along the board. Peel the tape while the final coat is still wet.
Skirting boards take a battering from feet, hoovers and furniture, so a good paint job here pays off for years. Most of the work happens before the lid comes off the tin. Filling, sanding and masking take longer than the painting itself, and they're what give you a clean line along the wall and floor.
We photographed each stage while filling, knotting and priming a run of new pine skirting. The steps below are the exact process we followed, and they work just as well on MDF skirting or boards that have been painted before.
What You'll Need
- A quality paint brush for woodwork
- Sandpaper or a sanding block
- Decorators' filler and decorators' caulk
- Knotting solution for bare wood skirting
- Low tack masking tape and dust sheets
- Primer or primer undercoat
- Skirting board paint in satinwood, gloss or eggshell
How To Paint Skirting Boards
1. Fill Holes And Caulk The Gaps
How much filling you need depends on how the skirting was fixed and what state it's in. We screwed ours to the wall rather than gluing it for a solid fixing, and that left a row of countersunk screw holes to deal with. We pressed decorating filler into each one, slightly proud of the surface so it could be sanded flush once dry.
Run a bead of decorators' caulk along the top edge where the skirting meets the wall, and into any gaps at the joints and corners. Smooth it with a wet finger and let it dry before painting. Caulk gives a far crisper line along the wall than paint on its own.
2. Treat Knots In Bare Wood
You'll only need this step on real timber, and our guide to MDF or wood skirting explains the difference. Pine and other softwoods have knots that weep resin, which bleeds through paint as yellow or brown stains, so bare wood needs every knot sealed first. MDF is man-made and has no knots, which saves a good chunk of prep time.
If a knot does start to show yellow through the top coat later, sand it back lightly, dab on more knotting solution and repaint over it.
We brushed knotting solution for sealing knots over each knot on our pine skirting, as the photo shows, taking it slightly past the edge of the knot.
3. Sand And Wipe Down
Give the whole length of skirting a light sand to smooth the filler and give the primer a key. Previously painted skirting needs a scuff over to dull the old finish. Vacuum along the floor, then wipe the boards with a damp cloth so no dust ends up in the paint.
4. Mask Up And Protect The Floor
Run low tack masking tape for painting along the wall just above the skirting. Low tack tape matters here, as a stronger tape can pull fresh paint off the wall when it comes away.
For carpets, tape a dust sheet or strip of masking tape down as tight to the bottom of the skirting as you can, pressing the carpet down as you go. That stops paint creeping under the edge and gives you a clean line at the bottom.
5. Apply A Primer
Bare wood and MDF both need a primer before the top coat. A primer undercoat primes and undercoats in one go, and MDF primer is made for sealing the cut edges, which soak up paint. The photo below shows our first coat of primer going on, with the knots still faintly visible underneath for the top coats to cover.
Dip the brush so the bristles are loaded about halfway up, then tap off the excess. Start at the top edge with the brush held at about 45 degrees, then paint along the length of the board in long strokes. Overloading the brush is what causes drips and runs at the bottom edge.
6. Brush On The Top Coats
Once the primer is dry, apply your top coat with the same technique. We used Dulux Once Satinwood, our pick in the best satinwood paint roundup, which you can see in the featured photo. Once the first coat is dry, look along the board in good light. If the primer is still grinning through or the sheen looks patchy, put a second coat on.
7. Remove The Tape While The Paint Is Wet
Peel the masking tape away while the final coat is still wet, pulling it back at a low angle. Leave it until the paint dries and the tape can tear the paint film and leave a ragged edge. On carpets, press down along the edge of the tape as you lift it, so the carpet pile doesn't spring back into the wet paint.
Satinwood Or Gloss For Skirting Boards
Satinwood gives a soft sheen that looks modern and hides small dents in the timber, and water-based versions stay white for longer. Traditional gloss paint for woodwork gives a harder, high shine finish, but it shows every flaw and solvent-based gloss can yellow over time. If your skirting is already glossed and you want to switch, our guide to painting satinwood over gloss covers the extra sanding and priming.
Our Tips For A Clean Finish
The prep is the slow part of painting skirting boards, but it's what makes the difference between a neat job and a messy one. Fill, caulk and sand properly, use low tack tape and don't overload the brush. And if a drip does land on the carpet, deal with it straight away using our guide on getting paint out of carpet.
Watch Us Do It
Skirting Board Paint: Satin, Gloss, Eggshell or Stained? We've Tested Them All To Find The Best!
What People Also Ask Us
Do you need to prime skirting boards before painting?
Bare wood and MDF skirting boards need priming before painting, as the primer seals the surface and helps the top coat grip and cover evenly. A primer undercoat does both jobs in one product. Skirting that's already painted and in good condition only needs a light sand and a wipe down before the new top coat.
Should you paint skirting boards or walls first?
Most decorators paint the walls first and the skirting boards last. Any emulsion that lands on the skirting gets covered by the satinwood or gloss, and you can mask the finished wall to get a sharp line along the top of the board. It's easier to cut a neat edge in woodwork paint than in emulsion.
How do you paint skirting boards without getting paint on the carpet?
Tape a strip of masking tape or a dust sheet tight to the bottom of the skirting, pressing the carpet down as you stick it so paint can't creep underneath. A paint shield or a wide scraper held against the carpet works too. Remove the tape while the paint is still wet, holding the carpet down as you lift it.
Can you use emulsion on skirting boards?
Emulsion isn't the right paint for skirting boards because it isn't tough enough to stand up to knocks from feet and hoovers, and it marks easily. Use a satinwood, gloss or eggshell made for wood. Our guide on painting wood with emulsion explains where emulsion can work on timber and where it can't.
Is it better to screw or glue skirting boards to the wall?
We screwed our skirting to the wall rather than gluing it, because we wanted a solid fixing. The trade-off is a row of countersunk screw holes, which need filling slightly proud of the surface and sanding flush once dry. Gluing leaves no holes to fill, but screws gave us the firmer hold on the new pine boards.
Is satinwood or gloss better for skirting boards?
Satinwood suits most skirting better, as its softer sheen hides the small dents boards pick up and the water-based versions stay white for longer. Gloss is harder and shinier, but that shine picks out every flaw, and solvent-based gloss can yellow with age. We used Dulux Once Satinwood on ours.
Do I need knotting solution on MDF skirting?
No, MDF skirting doesn't need knotting solution because it's man-made and has no knots. Pine and other softwoods do, as the knots weep resin that bleeds through paint as yellow or brown stains. MDF still needs primer, and an MDF primer is made for sealing the cut edges, which soak up paint.
What's the one mistake that spoils a skirting board paint job?
Overloading the brush is the mistake that spoils most skirting jobs. Too much paint causes drips and runs along the bottom edge. Load the bristles about halfway up, tap off the excess and paint in long strokes along the board. The other big one is leaving the masking tape until the paint dries, which can tear the paint film.
Eddie spent five years as a self-employed painter and decorator before going part time to become one of the main writers at DIY Works. From garden fences to mist coats on fresh plaster, painting and decorating is his speciality.