What works good for painted crown moulding?

[dirk martin]

What's better for paint grade crown moulding? Pine or Poplar? And what grade of raw stock is typically used for paint grade?

[Michael Schwartz]

Locally select grade poplar costs about the same or less than pine.

In fact I can buy #1 common cherry for about the price of finish grade pine from the lumber yard or home depot.

If your milling your own crown and other trim using a hardwood such as poplar may prove to be quite economical. However trim grade pine is commonly stocked in lengths of 12-16 feet. Locally most of the hardwoods I buy run 10 feet in length, with 12 footers mixed in.

After I did the math and calculated the price per boar foot of finish grade pine from home depot and my local lumber yard, I was shocked to find out what it really cost. Buying rough sawn hardwoods at the right place will save you quite a bit of money.

The poplar would be nice since its harder and takes paint well, but pine would work nicely too. I would look at cost and see what fits into your budget.

[Peter Quinn]

Both mill well and paint well, but around here poplar is cheaper and more easily available in 16' lengths clear. For poplar sound stable small nots work fine in paint grade, pine nots are a bleeding pain, so I"d probably lean toward poplar, fas grade.

[Carroll Courtney]

Use it for face frames,cabinet doors,etc.I use it for most of the painted stuff and the grain over time will not show through like pine will---Carroll

[Prashun Patel]

I'll get flamed for this, but also consider MDF for painted crown.
It's cheaper, smoother, machines like butter, conforms to waves, and is on par with poplar's stability.

[Stew Hagerty]

I'll get flamed for this, but also consider MDF for painted crown.
It's cheaper, smoother, machines like butter, conforms to waves, and is on par with poplar's stability.

+1 for MDF. It is the absolute BEST for painted moldings. As for Poplar -vs- Pine, I would definitely go for Poplar. It is less porous and more uniform than Pine.

[Gene Waara]

+2 for MDF. On the ceiling it will never get bumped so it will hold up well and is not close enough for anyone to tell it is MDF. I found the corners will not miter as well but the cost savings more than makes up for the need for a little filler and sandpaper.

[Chip Lindley]

Price-wise, MDF rules! It is smooth and paintable! But 8 ft. lengths make it a PITA. I dispise joints in the middle of long runs of Crown. I would do it right and get the longest lengths of poplar I could. But that's just me.

1x6 TREX (plastic) is available in 18 ft. lengths. But about $40 each.

[Mike Nguyen]

What's better for paint grade crown moulding? Pine or Poplar? And what grade of raw stock is typically used for paint grade?

I used MDF. It's cheap. I paid about 50 cents a foot for the base board and about 90 cent a foot for the crown. I put 1 base on top of the ceiling, 1 base of the wall, and then the crown in the middle to create big profile.

[Lee Schierer]

My choice for paint grade trim would be poplar. However be aware that you will need to sand after the first coat to get a really smooth finish. Poplar does not have the sap bleed problem associated with pine nor does it have a pronounced grain.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

My choice would be Poplar.
Good luck with MDF is you ever have a leak someplace.
It's happened to me.

[Brice Burrell]

I'd strongly recommend a stock profile in MDF for the cost and easy of installation. I can get all the MDF stock profiles in 16" lengths for dirt cheap around here. That assumes you want a stock moulding. If you want something custom (that's the only good reason to mill it yourself) don't mess around with MDF.

I've installed plenty of MDF, pine and poplar crown, once it's painted you can't tell the difference between them. For paint grade my first choice is MDF.

[scott vroom]

Use it for face frames,cabinet doors,etc.I use it for most of the painted stuff and the grain over time will not show through like pine will---Carroll

I'm building some painted office cabinets in a few weeks and was looking at hard maple Vs poplar. Seems the popular would dent too easily being a fairly soft wood.

[Don Alexander]

if price is the "be all , end all" for this project then MDF is probably king

if quality is at all important then MDF doesn't even get a mention, ever

thats my opinion btw and i'm sticking to it

[Bill Orbine]

MDF is cheap and paints well... but the bends are sure highlighted if the ceiling and walls aren't flat and true. Hardwood poplar is my choice. even The wood "lays" flatter upon ceiling and walls because of it's stiffness compared to MDF. After installation, let the molding acclimate to the room before caulking and paint to eliminate cracks.