Help - Repainting base molding with nails in it

[RetiredAt63]

Background - my hot water tank leaked, and I had to replace some drywall in the finished basement.  We pulled off the baseboard molding and cut 1" off the wall board at the base, so if there were moisture ever again it could not wick into the wallboard.  Since the baseboard molding was off anyway, I have repainted the entire basement - it was relatively easy.  Now I want to put the base molding back on, but of course it is full of finishing nails.

I was told at my hardware store to cut the nails off at the back, and I have the tool for it, but my hands can only do a few at a time, it is very hard work.  Others have told me to hammer out the nails from the back, and fill the resulting holes with a bit of caulk or wall filler, and then sand and repaint.  Although more tedious, this sounds more like something I can handle.

Has anyone done this, either way?  And what were your results?

[Ductyl]

I've never done either, but my thought would be to grab a Dremel and make quick work of those nails. If you don't already have one, a rotory tool is a pretty nice piece of equipment for little cutting/widening/polishing jobs. Always wear safety goggles, since the cutting wheels can just fly apart and spray bits in every direction.

[Spork]

I have generally used electrician's pliers and cut them.  (They are my favorite go-to default set of pliers.)  They cut finishing nails very easily.  Or you could grip them with the pliers, give them a little twist and push/pull them right out. 

[Midwest]

http://www.lowes.com/pd_284332-16878-50235_4294857588__?productId=1240709&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=

I use something like this to cut.

Midwest

[mchandleraz]

I worked for a custom home building company for a summer, and our tactic was as follows:

• Get a framing nail and a hammer. Drive the nails below the surface of the baseboard using the framing nail as a punch of sorts.
• Cover with wood putty, and let dry
• Sand smooth, making sure to leave some of the putty around the edge of the hole you've made by driving the nail deeper. Doing this prevents the putty from cracking as it dries.
• Paint!

[Spork]

I worked for a custom home building company for a summer, and our tactic was as follows:

• Get a framing nail and a hammer. Drive the nails below the surface of the baseboard using the framing nail as a punch of sorts.
• Cover with wood putty, and let dry
• Sand smooth, making sure to leave some of the putty around the edge of the hole you've made by driving the nail deeper. Doing this prevents the putty from cracking as it dries.
• Paint!

Sure that's how you put them on.  He's got the molding off in his hand with a pin cushion sticking out the back.

[RetiredAt63]

"Sure that's how you put them on.  He's got the molding off in his hand with a pin cushion sticking out the back."

Exactly - except it is "she" which is why cutting the nails off at the back is so hard, not the same hand strength as a guy. I have the electrician's pliers, I can do 5 nails and I am done for a hour.  Plus maybe it is my pliers, maybe it is bad technique, but I am left with a tiny stub, and I know I should drive the nail a bit deeper from the front so it doesn't stick out, which makes the stub that much bigger.

Spork, is it the electrician's pliers that you grab and twist with? Or regular or needle-nose?

[Spork]

"Sure that's how you put them on.  He's got the molding off in his hand with a pin cushion sticking out the back."

Exactly - except it is "she" which is why cutting the nails off at the back is so hard, not the same hand strength as a guy. I have the electrician's pliers, I can do 5 nails and I am done for a hour.  Plus maybe it is my pliers, maybe it is bad technique, but I am left with a tiny stub, and I know I should drive the nail a bit deeper from the front so it doesn't stick out, which makes the stub that much bigger.

Spork, is it the electrician's pliers that you grab and twist with? Or regular or needle-nose?

Ooops.   The problem with handles is they're hard to associate with a he/she.  My apologies.  I use electrician's pliers for almost everything.  If you can't cut easily with those, maybe the 8 in bolt cutter someone suggested would work better.  It should give you more leverage.

As to the stub... I wouldn't worry about that.  I suspect it will settle nicely into the drywall.  If that causes the end to pop out when you re-nail it, you can set it with a nail set.

[Greg]

What I do is use channel locks to pull the nails through the back.  The front should be unmarred by this.

Some will break.  The ones that break you sometimes do end up cutting, but the majority will pull through easily.  The channel lock pliers work well for this because, the more leverage you put on them, the tighter they grip the nail.

Oh and; tetanus shot.

[RetiredAt63]

Spork - not a problem, it is a gender-neutral handle  ;-)   Unless (gasps and shudders for effect) you are making the assumption that someone handling painting and molding is automatically a guy, which I don't think most people on here would do.   
"Ooops.   The problem with handles is they're hard to associate with a he/she.  My apologies"   

And now I need to go google "channel locks", I have no idea what those are.  I know what finishing nails are. I know the difference between slotted, Phillips and Robertson screw heads, so I do have the basics

Greg - Good point re tetanus shots, I had my vaccinations regularly when I was working around animals a lot, but I think I could use a booster.

[kendallf]

Just hammer them back out.  Get two wood blocks, set them under the baseboard on each side of the nail, hammer it back through, pull out, repeat.  When you reattach the baseboard later, you'll have to set, putty and paint the new nail holes anyway; this just gives you a few more (or you can reuse the holes, if you like.)

This may be slightly anti-Mustachian, but you could just buy and cut some new baseboard.  It's only a few dollars per piece.  That's predicated on having a miter saw and possibly a coping saw, of course.

[RetiredAt63]

This sounds relatively easy - and I can see I will be spending a lot of time on my knees filling all the old and new holes.  I will replace any molding that is in bad shape, but this is almost the whole basement, and about half the door molding as well as well as all the base molding (and I am now on pension so pinching pennies even harder) so reuse will be the main activity.  I have the paint, I think I have wood putty somewhere, so I guess I know what I will be doing for my Labour Day weekend - hard labour  ;)

Just hammer them back out.  Get two wood blocks, set them under the baseboard on each side of the nail, hammer it back through, pull out, repeat.  When you reattach the baseboard later, you'll have to set, putty and paint the new nail holes anyway; this just gives you a few more (or you can reuse the holes, if you like.)

This may be slightly anti-Mustachian, but you could just buy and cut some new baseboard.  It's only a few dollars per piece.  That's predicated on having a miter saw and possibly a coping saw, of course.

[2527]

Just hammer them back out.  Get two wood blocks, set them under the baseboard on each side of the nail, hammer it back through, pull out, repeat.  When you reattach the baseboard later, you'll have to set, putty and paint the new nail holes anyway; this just gives you a few more (or you can reuse the holes, if you like.)

This may be slightly anti-Mustachian, but you could just buy and cut some new baseboard.  It's only a few dollars per piece.  That's predicated on having a miter saw and possibly a coping saw, of course.

Having cut and installed trim, I think it would be easier to install trim that has already been cut to fit.  And as you mentioned, cheaper.