int/ext trim paint prep question?

I found some information online but with differing techniques. So I thought I would try here to see if any of you have some sound suggestions?

My house is 30+ years old and the trim (in/out) was originally painted with oil based paint. Over most of those years I was busy working so when the time came to repaint the trim I hired local painting contractors. For the most part that worked well but it appears that the last fellow hired several years ago put latex over the oil without any primel. Now, several years later, I'm seeing the normal peeling that occurs when this is happens. If I scrape off the peeling parts it leaves sharp ridges where one coat (the latex) lays over the old. Of course that contractor is no longer around.

Now being retired, the only person I can afford to do the prep work and repainting is yours truly.

So, before I delve into this significant task I am hoping that some of you who have been faced with this in the past would pass along some pointers and good techniques before I tackle this project after the holidays.

Thanks for any info. :-(

Reply to
BobMCT
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Bob:

Unfortunately, this happens a lot.

And, the bottom line is that scraping the old paint off the interior trim and priming and painting it is as much or more work than replacing the trim.

What I'd suggest is that you buy some duct tape and apply it to your trim. Pull off the duct tape quickly and hopefully most of the latex paint will come with the tape.

Then you have to deal with much less paint removal. Alternatively, if the latex paint is sticking well to your trim, and makes it past the duct tape, then you might consider painting over it.

Reply to
nestork

Take sandpaper to it, it may all come off.

Reply to
Dan Espen

Here, I stumbled across a post I typed 15 years ago (in 1998) where someone else asked exactly the same question as you did:

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It gives a fuller description of what's happening, but the bottom line is that it's bacteria feeding and multiplying in your carpet that's causing the smell.

The smell will subside as the carpet dries out, but the bottom line is that your old carpet needs to be replace with a new one or with another kind of flooring that doesn't allow bacteria food to accumulate in it.

PS: In that same Google Groups thread, there's some guy that responded to the same question that claims to be a Master Carpet Cleaning Whatever and keeps citing lack of sufficient training as the cause of problems like this. If this guy knew what the problem was, he'd spit it out, but he fails to even mention the word "bacteria".

Take a look at this l Most offensive malodors encountered in carpet cleaning are the result of bacteria feeding on a food source. Some of the bacteria that remain in the carpet after general cleaning continue to be killed by the deodorizer active long after the professional cleaner has left the premises.

If lack of training of the person cleaning the carpet caused problems like the carpet smelling afterward, then homeowner who rents a Rug Doctor at a supermarket would end up with this same problem. Most of the time it doesn't happen because most of the time the carpets are newer and don't have as much accumulated food in them.

But, the bottom line is that old carpet of yours is at the end of it's useful life and needs to be replaced.

Reply to
nestork

You are doing whole house, inside and out? Yike! I faced that disaster when I took on a job for hire for a neighbor (out of work and broke)....He said he'd buy whatever I wanted to use, but ended up buying the cheapest latex he could find :o( When I started cleaning, patching and sanding, it became evident what I was facing. He got one hell of a deal! I ended up peeling, by hand, much of the old latex. Latex came off in big sheets from the doors, but trim was much more tedious. There were old food splatters on the enamel when the latex came off! If the hard enamel is smooth, a razor scraper can work well. I've seen instructions to use spackle, feathered out, to hide the ridge on edges of peeled paint, have tried with poor results. Latex generally just rolls off when you try sanding, but coarse paper might make it go quickly. If the latex is adhering well, you might also use a heavy-bodied primer, and then sand that. Depending on your materials and ability, it might also be simpler to remove the old trim and buy pre-primed. I used latex paint once for interior trim and found, after it took some kid wear and tear that it was really difficult to repaint.

When I removed old exterior trim paint, I used a propane torch...worked well but that was brittle, aligatored oil paint; never used a torch on latex.

Reply to
Norminn

It's your lucky day, my friend. I just did some prep work on trim that had peeling. I was in a similar position, first time I've done that in decades. So, I did a bit of research and I came up with an excellent solution. Two things are involved:

One - Get a Wagner paint eater, $70 at HD. It's like a cross between a sander and a grinder. It has it's own unique head that it uses to take the loose paint off. It saves you hours of scraping and sanding. Unlike a sander, you don't have to change paper, it won't clog up, etc. I did the trim on an entire house and the head is still like new. It won't give you a perfectly flat surface ike you can get with a LOT of sanding, but you can use it on an angle to greatly reduce the transition areas where paint comes off and you have ridges going from bare to paint. You can greatly even it out very quickly, but it won't be a perfect surface.

Two - Now you have a surface that is free of loose paint, but still isn't perfectly smooth. Time for a great product: XIM Peel Bond. It's a thick, acrylic primer that goes on thick and helps level out those transition spots so you have a more uniform surface. It's also a super primer that really sticks. Apply it with a brush and leave a little heavier coat in the bare transition areas. For high visibility areas, you can apply two coats, to level it even more.

If you can't fine Peel Bond, Sherwin Williams makes a similar product called PrimerRX. I've seen a lot of pros online rave about the Peel Bond. The SW product has only recently come out, so there isn't much experience out there with it. However, if you read the product label, etc it seems identical to Peel Bond and they might even be just remarketing the XIM product.

Three - Send me a case of beer.

Reply to
trader4

Exterior

  1. Remove loose paint, both latex and oil

  1. Prime over any remaining oil paint (spot prime if not much, whole thing if there is). The primer will at least partially fill in any edges left from paint removal; other than that, I'd not worry about the "ridges"...getting to a totally smooth surface would be a more trouble than its worth IMO. If you disagree, wet sand the primer with 120 or 150 wet or dry paper (the black stuff); you may need one or more additional primer/sandings.

  2. Finish paint with a decent grade of acrylic latex. ____________________

Interior

  1. Remove loose paint, both latex and oil

  1. Prime

  2. Skim coat with drying type drywall mud

  1. Sand smooth with a sanding sponge (available at HD/Lowes/etc...about 2

1/2 x 8 x 1" firm but flexible foam covered on long edges and faces with a grit; fairly coarse on one edge and face, finer on the others). The preceding will work fine IF your trim doesn't have complex, difficult to sand shapes; if it does, it is still possible, just more time consuming and you'd need more than a sanding sponge.

  1. Prime

  2. Finish paint with acrylic latex or oil. Even though it is getting harder to find, I'd probably use oil for woodwork...I think it looks and "lays" better and it can be sanded. If you use latex, do NOT use glossy...it stays sticky for months - maybe forever :) - even though it is dry. ____________________

Note I did not suggest sanding the latex paint; that is because latex - none I have ever found - doesn't sand, it rubs up into little balls. It does better wet sanded but that is a real PITA.

FWIW, my favorite primer is Zinsser 1-2-3. It is water base, good either interior or exterior.

Reply to
dadiOH

Thanks all. Looks like I have my work cut out for me. Well, what else would I do in retirement, anyway????

Happy Holidays

Reply to
BobMCT

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