Carpentry and Woodworking - Attaching trim to built in shelves

Last fall I had my basement finished. As they were firring out the walls around the foundation wall, it occurred to me that there was some wasted space above the foundation wall. I had them frame in some 3'x4' spaces for built in shelves. When they were doing trim, they cut trim to match the doors that would picture frame the shelves.

I have built the shelves out of 3/4" ply, and painted them in the work/laundry room. We have new carpet in the family room, and my wife won't let me do any painting in there (due to the amount of spillage that occurred painting everything else before we had the carpet).

My current question is how to put the trim around the book case? I want to paint it in the work room. As I want to minimize the miter cut gap, I can't paint before I assemble. So, I either attach the trim to the shelves and paint before installing them in the wall, or I first install the painted shelves, then somehow assemble the trim, paint, and install as a single unit.

I should mentino that the trim is 3" MDF. I am doing a slight reveal on the bottom, and the sides and top will overlap.

Thanks!
~john

Seems to me you could use sheet plastic for protection while you paint.

To follow your procedure, I would paint and install the shelves. Then assemble the trim as a unit , paint, and install. Look at the way kitchen cabinet face frames are fitted together to get an idea of how to cut and fit the trim. If you need an excuse to buy another tool, a portable pocket jig could be used to assemble the trim. Good luck with your project.

Ken, I like the way you slipped that in there. But in all fairness, I agree, an inexpensive (relatively) Kreg pocket drill set up would make a "boss" job on the frames.

Hey, Larry
Thanks. I finally bought a Kreg and love it. I used it to build the face frame for a built-in cupboard in the kitchen. Have a good day!

So I got one of the krig jigs and I love it. I am going to use this thing all the time!!

Thanks!