How to Finish Off the Ends of Molding in a Bathroom

Cope

• Sometimes one piece of molding butts into another piece at 90 degrees. If the molding has a profiled face with dips, curves or lines, they won't fit. One piece of molding has an exposed end that raises up and looks terrible, or there's hollow spaces where the two pieces don't interlock with each other because of the profile lines tying into each other at an angle. Use a coping saw to alleviate this problem. Start by cutting the end of the adjoining piece off at 45 degrees using a miter saw. This exposes a sharp edge on the front of the molding that reveals a cross-section of the profile. Use a coping saw -- which is a tiny handsaw with a short blade -- to trim away the excessive wood to expose the sharpened profile. The coped end fits perfectly into the adjoining piece of molding at 90 degrees.

Miter

• You might have noticed flat, angled ends on the ends of exposed moldings. The ends taper down to a sharp point that terminates to almost nothing. This is a mitered end. It's used all the time, and is one of the best ways to finish the exposed ends of almost any kind of molding. Cut a mitered end using an ordinary miter saw. Set the angle at 30 or 45 degrees, stand the molding on its edge, and slice off the end to produce a clean, flat end. You can cut it down to a sharp edge, or leave 1/4 inch of the end square, which typically is used more often. Miter the face of the molding by placing it on the saw facing your body.

Sand

• Rounded or blunted tips also look good on the ends of molding. A smooth gradual roll on the end of moldings looks professional and is easy to obtain. Place the molding flat on a worktable and use a hand block or orbital sander to round the end. Known as a bullnose edge when it's on the side of the molding, it looks finished and attractive when used on the ends of exposed moldings. To save time, miter the ends slightly with the miter saw, and follow up by rounding or blunting the mitered edge with the hand block. Sanded or rounded ends on moldings are used all the time in homes, businesses and specialty projects.

Finish

• End grain is one concern when finishing molding ends. Whenever molding is cut perpendicular across the grain, it exposes the end grain of the wood. End grain is harder and more dense than face grain -- which is the face of the molding. When stain is added, the cross-grain end may stain darker or lighter than the face grain. This makes the end of the molding stick out like a sore thumb. After staining the end, smooth and polish the end grain with a piece of 180-grit sandpaper. Use a stain marker to color the end of the molding to match the face. If it's too dark or too light, sand it off and use a different marker to match the end grain to the face grain. Spray the end with two coats of aerosol lacquer from a can, and you're ready to go. If the molding already is in place on the wall, it's still fine to color the ends with stain marker followed by lacquer to finish it off.