Painting crown molding is an easy but time consuming job. Taking shortcuts and skipping steps will really show once all is said and done. Dedicate plenty of time to painting once you have all of the planning done!
Planning the color may seem easy, but you have to consider what the color will look like if you have a very open house that allows you to see walls from different rooms. Also, consider how you’re going to switch from one color to the next, does it happen between two walls or is an abrupt transition? There really isn’t a specific crown molding paint that you should use, any paint that works with wood will work out just fine.
Many people wonder whether cabinet crown molding is supposed to match the color of the cabinet or the color of the wall/ceiling. There isn’t a cookie cutter answer for this, and the answer varies from the kitchen to the bathroom. Many people will stain or paint kitchen cabinet crown molding to match the cabinet. In the bathroom many people will do the opposite and paint it the color of the ceiling, or a totally different color altogether. What you can do is to paint a few scrap pieces different colors and test them out to see which one you like the best.
As for the actual painting, a primer is an absolute must. There is going to be a lot of this painted crown molding in your house so flaws and blemishes are going to be noticeable. Pay attention when you’re buying crown molding as to whether or not it’s been pre-primed, many already are. If you lucked out with pre-primed molding, give it a quick and light sand then move on to painting. If you’re working with untreated wood, use a high quality primer and be sure to give it plenty of time to dry before moving on to painting.
After priming the wood, give it a light sand with a high-grit sandpaper (220 or s0), clean off all of the dust, and get painting. This is just like all other painting jobs you’ve done, so there shouldn’t be any surprises here, but using a brush that is a bit wider than the molding will save you some time.
I’m sure that you don’t want to have to go back up and paint all of the molding every few years, so spend the time to give it a quality second coat. Sand and clean it the same as you did after priming and slather on that last coat.
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