whats the best way of doing this?? masking tape along the edge? any
tips appreciated. i didnt give the skirting enough coats before the
carpet fitter was due and want to finish it off properly without
getting paint on the carpet. thanks

In message
,
benpost writes
whats the best way of doing this?? masking tape along the edge? any
tips appreciated. i didnt give the skirting enough coats before the
carpet fitter was due and want to finish it off properly without
getting paint on the carpet.

I bought some strips of slightly curved plastic, shaped rather like one
slat from Venetian blinds. The idea is the slat slips under the
skirting, and protects the carpet. Works well.

--
Graeme

On Sep 14, 1:41�pm, benpost wrote:
whats the best way of doing this?? masking tape along the edge? any
tips appreciated. i didnt give the skirting enough coats before the
carpet fitter was due and want to finish it off properly without
getting paint on the carpet. thanks

I have used one of those window frame plastic masking thingies, sorry
don't know the proper name. Dig it in tight at about 45 degrees to
the skirting board but be sure to wipe it clean after each use or
paint will leak to the back face and get onto the carpet.

George

I use a piece of aluminium about 12" x 6", shove it between the edge of the
carpet and skirting and it should make it possible to paint just below the
carpet line. Watch for excess paint build up though

Gordon
"benpost" wrote in message
...
whats the best way of doing this?? masking tape along the edge? any
tips appreciated. i didnt give the skirting enough coats before the
carpet fitter was due and want to finish it off properly without
getting paint on the carpet. thanks

On 14/09/2008 13:41, benpost wrote:

whats the best way of doing this?? masking tape along the edge? any
tips appreciated. i didnt give the skirting enough coats before the
carpet fitter was due and want to finish it off properly without
getting paint on the carpet. thanks

I used to have some half-round strips of thin plastic, you could wedge
them in the gap under the skirting, then overlap them over each other
going around the room. I've not seen mine for a while, may have lent
them out, can't remember seeing them in shops lately, but somebody
probably still sells them.

On Sep 14, 2:04*pm, Graeme wrote:
In message
,
benpost writes

whats the best way of doing this?? masking tape along the edge? any
tips appreciated. i didnt give the skirting enough coats before the
carpet fitter was due and want to finish it off properly without
getting paint on the carpet.

I bought some strips of slightly curved plastic, shaped rather like one
slat from Venetian blinds. *The idea is the slat slips under the
skirting, and protects the carpet. *Works well.


Slice a 2 litre drink bottle into strips. Works well, but if you
remove the plastic before its dry there will be a bit of carpet
sticking to the paint. Your choice either way.


NT

Andy Burns wrote:
On 14/09/2008 13:41, benpost wrote:

whats the best way of doing this?? masking tape along the edge? any
tips appreciated. i didnt give the skirting enough coats before the
carpet fitter was due and want to finish it off properly without
getting paint on the carpet. thanks

I used to have some half-round strips of thin plastic, you could wedge
them in the gap under the skirting, then overlap them over each other
going around the room. I've not seen mine for a while, may have lent
them out, can't remember seeing them in shops lately, but somebody
probably still sells them.

I've never found any kind of masking method that works as well as just
cutting in with a 1/2" brush. If it's only an extra coat you don't have
to paint right down to the carpet edge.

On Sun, 14 Sep 2008 14:04:24 +0100, Graeme wrote:

I bought some strips of slightly curved plastic, shaped rather like one
slat from Venetian blinds. The idea is the slat slips under the
skirting, and protects the carpet. Works well.

Yep, I have those. I also tuck a dust sheet under the exposed edge to give
a working area. Be very aware that they do get paint on them and that can
easily transfer to place you don't want it when moving the slats. I guess
the ideal would be to get enough to go right round the room so you didn't
have to move them.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Andy Burns wrote:

On 14/09/2008 13:41, benpost wrote:

whats the best way of doing this?? masking tape along the edge? any
tips appreciated. i didnt give the skirting enough coats before the
carpet fitter was due and want to finish it off properly without
getting paint on the carpet. thanks

I used to have some half-round strips of thin plastic, you could wedge
them in the gap under the skirting, then overlap them over each other
going around the room. I've not seen mine for a while, may have lent
them out, can't remember seeing them in shops lately, but somebody
probably still sells them.


Before that, there was a proprietary device made from bent sheet metal
and called a "George". You inserted it between the skirting and
carpet then pushed it down to depress the carpet. Then you could
paint the section of skirting that was exposed - about a foot long,
perhaps more.

You could also use it to mask the gloss paint on a skirting board
while painting the wall above.

I don't know if the "George" is still available, but this item might
do the trick:

http://www.focusdiy.co.uk/invt/805317

Graeme wrote:
In message
,
benpost writes
whats the best way of doing this?? masking tape along the edge? any
tips appreciated. i didnt give the skirting enough coats before the
carpet fitter was due and want to finish it off properly without
getting paint on the carpet.

I bought some strips of slightly curved plastic, shaped rather like one
slat from Venetian blinds. The idea is the slat slips under the
skirting, and protects the carpet. Works well.

I saved the slats of old Venetian blinds for just that purpose!

On 14/09/2008 14:48, Bruce wrote:

Andy Burns wrote:

I used to have some half-round strips of thin plastic, you could wedge
them in the gap under the skirting, then overlap them over each other
going around the room.

there was a proprietary device made from bent sheet metal
and called a "George". You inserted it between the skirting and
carpet then pushed it down to depress the carpet. Then you could
paint the section of skirting that was exposed - about a foot long,
perhaps more.

The advantage the plastic strips (I'm sure the suggestion for cutting up
a 2l drinks bottle would work OK) have is that you can lay a whole room
or wall at a time, then you don't have the risk of hairs/dust getting
"pinged" onto your wet paint as you move the guard along.

Screwfix do a masking tape with a 3 inch plastic strip attached , might be
worth a look

Sam
"Andy Burns" wrote in message
et...
On 14/09/2008 14:48, Bruce wrote:

Andy Burns wrote:

I used to have some half-round strips of thin plastic, you could wedge
them in the gap under the skirting, then overlap them over each other
going around the room.

there was a proprietary device made from bent sheet metal
and called a "George". You inserted it between the skirting and
carpet then pushed it down to depress the carpet. Then you could
paint the section of skirting that was exposed - about a foot long,
perhaps more.

The advantage the plastic strips (I'm sure the suggestion for cutting up a
2l drinks bottle would work OK) have is that you can lay a whole room or
wall at a time, then you don't have the risk of hairs/dust getting
"pinged" onto your wet paint as you move the guard along.

benpost wrote:

whats the best way of doing this??

Dunno 'best'. I've previously used a wide paint-scraper to hold carpet back
just enough to lightly paint below the carpet edge. But I'm afraid I'm
sloppy enough just to let the carpet spring back after that, at which point
some of it may touch the newly painted skirting. OTOH if the carpet's going
to touch that closely you're never going to see the skirting behind the
touching carpet anyway.

I'd have thought that all the cleverer ideas, like blinds slats, suffer from
the same problem. If you remove them while the paint is wet the carpet can
spring back, whereas if you let the paint dry, getting the slats out again
without breaking the painty edge might be tricky.

--
Jeremy C B Nicoll - my opinions are my own.

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Sun, 14 Sep 2008 14:04:24 +0100, Graeme wrote:

I bought some strips of slightly curved plastic, shaped rather like one
slat from Venetian blinds. The idea is the slat slips under the
skirting, and protects the carpet. Works well.

Yep, I have those. I also tuck a dust sheet under the exposed edge to give
a working area. Be very aware that they do get paint on them and that can
easily transfer to place you don't want it when moving the slats. I guess
the ideal would be to get enough to go right round the room so you didn't
have to move them.

Yes - that's why, after buying one of the purpose-made ones, I decided
to use old, wide, Venetian blind slats!

Jeremy Nicoll - news posts wrote:

I'd have thought that all the cleverer ideas, like blinds slats, suffer from
the same problem. If you remove them while the paint is wet the carpet can
spring back, whereas if you let the paint dry, getting the slats out again
without breaking the painty edge might be tricky.

I've found that waiting until the paint has _begun_ to dry, but not yet
completely set, works well. In an 18'x11' room, by the time I finished
painting the last bit, the first bit was just dry enough to start
removing the slats.

Andy Burns wrote:

On 14/09/2008 14:48, Bruce wrote:

Andy Burns wrote:

I used to have some half-round strips of thin plastic, you could wedge
them in the gap under the skirting, then overlap them over each other
going around the room.

there was a proprietary device made from bent sheet metal
and called a "George". You inserted it between the skirting and
carpet then pushed it down to depress the carpet. Then you could
paint the section of skirting that was exposed - about a foot long,
perhaps more.

The advantage the plastic strips (I'm sure the suggestion for cutting up
a 2l drinks bottle would work OK) have is that you can lay a whole room
or wall at a time, then you don't have the risk of hairs/dust getting
"pinged" onto your wet paint as you move the guard along.


Oh, absolutely. The trouble with the George was that, if you got too
much paint on it, it would transfer it to places you definitely didn't
want it to go!

I ended up wiping it thoroughly clean before moving it, which hardly
made it a labour-saving device. The multiple plastic slats that
others have suggested seem to be a good idea.

"Graeme" wrote in message
...
In message
,
benpost writes
whats the best way of doing this?? masking tape along the edge? any
tips appreciated. i didnt give the skirting enough coats before the
carpet fitter was due and want to finish it off properly without
getting paint on the carpet.

I bought some strips of slightly curved plastic, shaped rather like one
slat from Venetian blinds. The idea is the slat slips under the skirting,
and protects the carpet. Works well.

--
Graeme

I bought some stuff on a roll. It had a crease so that it readily folded and
shoved down the gap.

On Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:51:34 +0100, "John"
wrote:


I bought some stuff on a roll. It had a crease so that it readily folded and
shoved down the gap.


How about a length of damp proof membrane, it could be given a quick
wipe over with silicon oil to act as a release agent.

Derek

On Sep 14, 3:57*pm, Jeremy Nicoll - news posts
wrote:
benpost wrote:
whats the best way of doing this??

Dunno 'best'. *I've previously used a wide paint-scraper to hold carpet back
just enough to lightly paint below the carpet edge. *But I'm afraid I'm
sloppy enough just to let the carpet spring back after that, at which point
some of it may touch the newly painted skirting. *OTOH if the carpet's going
to touch that closely you're never going to see the skirting behind the
touching carpet anyway.

I'd have thought that all the cleverer ideas, like blinds slats, suffer from
the same problem. *If you remove them while the paint is wet the carpet can
spring back, whereas if you let the paint dry, getting the slats out again
without breaking the painty edge might be tricky.

Slats sounds like a great idea.

Since the paint edge between the guard and the wall is below the
carpet edge it doesnt much matter what happens to it. Oil based paints
dry soon enough, but take a few days to cure.

Plus theres no need to paint down that far, just go a bit below the
carpet line. Whatever guard you use, tucking it under the skirting (or
PB when there's no skirting) clears the carpet out the way, making a
very easy workspace.


NT

"benpost" wrote in message
...
whats the best way of doing this?? masking tape along the edge? any
tips appreciated. i didnt give the skirting enough coats before the
carpet fitter was due and want to finish it off properly without
getting paint on the carpet. thanks

Thats typical of my BIL...slap the paint on while carpet is down, result
hairs and dust on it. :-)