After our recent discussion about office layouts, several of your comments about the blue trim finally pushed us to act. We’d been convincing ourselves that the only way to repaint all that trim—baseboards, crown molding, and five windows with 66 panes—was by hand. In the end we admitted that was unrealistic, so we pulled out the paint sprayer, taped everything off, prayed we wouldn’t get overspray on the wood floors, and committed to removing the blue trim over a long weekend.
We’d sprayed the upstairs trim before moving in and before the new floors were installed, which was easy because there wasn’t anything to protect. Downstairs, where we needed the rooms to stay functional, we’d tackled trim with brushes and rollers. The office, however, was mostly empty and could be sealed off for a few days, so it was the perfect room to try spraying.
We cleared the room (except for a heavy file cabinet we simply covered) and moved everything into the dining room and foyer. The initial chaos is always worth it when a room can be finished faster and with a better result.
Although spraying can be quick, the prep is more involved, so we wanted to compare the overall time and effort. Some prep—wiping surfaces and taping edges—would have been required regardless of method, but protecting floors and windows is more intensive when spraying.
We covered the floors with rosin paper because our sprayer sends fine mist everywhere. We taped the floor edges first and then secured each strip of paper so the taped edges would be tight against the baseboards—paint on hardwood was our biggest fear. This meant using more tape than usual, but the extra precaution felt necessary.
With the floor taped, Clara thought the taped surface was a great drawing spot while we moved on to the windows. I considered liquid masking film, which some pros recommend, but many warned it can take multiple coats to work reliably. Instead, Sherry had a simple idea: cut rosin paper squares and tape them to the center of each pane. We didn’t cover every edge, but the squares protected the glass where paint would most likely land. I left one pane uncovered as a test—and it proved how helpful the paper was.
Next we sealed off the office from the rest of the house. We taped a tarp across the doorway on both sides of the frame and used an inexpensive tarp zipper we found at Home Depot to create a resealable entrance. That zipper made it much easier to come and go without letting clouds of primer and paint dust escape into the foyer.
With protective gear on and primer in hand, I set up the sprayer and got started. Our sprayer clogged right away, so the first hour involved cleaning and fiddling until it worked. By late afternoon we were finally spraying primer, and the taped and paper-covered room quickly grew darker with the windows covered and clouds rolling in. I’d neglected to bring work lights, so I ran out to buy a couple after the primer coat.
After letting the primer dry overnight and thoroughly cleaning the sprayer, I applied the first coat of trim paint the next morning. Spraying is fast: a single coat went on in about 30 minutes. However, because the trim has many angles, a sprayed coat can miss nooks and corners. We waited until the first coat cured, then applied a second coat to cover spots the sprayer missed.
Three days into our work, the outside of the room didn’t look great, but inside the blue was gone. The real challenge came when we began removing the window coverings. Our quick rosin squares weren’t perfect and left bits of paper stuck in places; we ended up spending several hours scraping paint from all 66 panes. Straight razors worked best to remove the bulk, and an X-Acto knife handled tight corners. The single uncovered pane we left as a test was decidedly worse, confirming our decision to protect the glass.
By early afternoon we had all the windows cleaned and enjoyed a celebratory lunch. Peeling up the rosin paper from the floor revealed it had protected the hardwoods perfectly—no leaks, no surprises—so that part of our prep paid off.
With the blue gone, the room looked brighter, though the walls and ceiling had overspray beyond the trim. We plan to paint the ceiling and walls while the furniture is still out, which makes that step easier. The trim still needs a bit of attention—some drips from the second sprayed coat required sanding and touch-up by hand, and caulking is necessary where the moldings meet the walls. Fresh white trim also made the existing wall color look more yellow than before, so we’re debating a new wall color that’s light but not stark white.
So what’s the verdict on spraying versus brushing? Spraying is dramatically faster for applying coats—what took 1.5 hours spraying would likely take 4+ hours by hand—but the additional prep, masking, and cleanup add significant time and effort. Spraying also introduced issues we don’t usually have with hand painting, like heavier overspray on windows and occasional drips that need sanding. We’ll likely spray rooms that are easy to isolate, like the dining room, and continue refining our prep and cleanup routine first.
We’d welcome tips from anyone experienced with paint sprayers—any advice on preventing clogs, minimizing overspray, or protecting windows more efficiently would be appreciated before we tackle the dining room. This was the last room with blue trim for us, and finishing it felt like a major step forward.