# Painting carpeted stairwell with no baseboards



## aimless07 (Oct 26, 2008)

I have done some painting over the years but this is my first 2 story house. My stairwell needs to be painted, but how do I paint it when there are no baseboards on the actual stairs themselves that I can tape off and not paint? My stairs are carpeted by the way!

I have searched high and low online and I can't find any topics that specifically have to do with this problem. Hope you guys have some answers for me!


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

old dustpan, large putty knife, or even cardboard can be used to avoid getting paint on the carpet as you go. also use newspaper to catch possible drip or splatter. but what do i know? i'm just a mouse...

DM


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Jun 17, 2008)

aimless07 said:


> I have done some painting over the years but this is my first 2 story house. My stairwell needs to be painted, but how do I paint it when there are no baseboards on the actual stairs themselves that I can tape off and not paint? My stairs are carpeted by the way!


What I do when I'm painting baseboards in a carpeted area is to just buy some 2 inch (or even 3 inch wide painter's masking tape). You need to kinda push the edge of the tape down between the carpet and the wall, and then press it down onto the carpet. If you don't get it right first time, just leave the tape there to hold the carpet out of the way, and put a second piece of tape over it to tape the carpet off better.

Alternatively, just go to any sheet metal shop and get a piece of sheet metal that you can put between the carpet and the wall to allow you to sneak a brush into there without getting paint on the carpet.

Maybe get one of those black foam brushes, and thin your paint with some water and just take a day to do the first few inches above the carpet first. I find those black foam brushes are much better for painting when you've got a small area and you want to avoid having to deal with brush strokes. If you thin your paint by 10 or 15 % with water, and use one of those black foam el-cheapo brushes, you should be able to do a pretty good job.

(Maybe experiment in advance: just use the foam brush to dip out some of the paint you'll be using into a wax paper cup, thin just that paint with 15 % water (say), and use that thinned paint to paint an area of the wall you intend to paint. I find that spreadding the paint on the wall roughly first, and then PUSHING the brush across that spread paint allows me to do a pretty good job (no visible lines across the painted area).)


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## bjbatlanta (Jul 16, 2008)

Nestor's got the right idea with the "blue" tape. Believe me, I'm not a painter, but am doing similar job here at home (railing around the stairwell). With baseboard, I use regular "paper" drywall tape and tuck it under the base. It didn't seem to be working well on the carpet butted to the nosing at the railing. I took the masking tape and stuck to the carpet with about a 1/4" lapped over the wood. Took a painter's 5 in 1 tool and "tucked" the overlapping tape over the edge of the carpet. Worked for me.


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