Let's say you've got a house full of natural wood trim (polyurethane), and you really want it semi-gloss white. Would you paint it, or just buy new preprimed trim? If you paint, do you degloss first, or just put on the primer and then paint over?
I would paint vs replace trim, if trim is in good condition. Way less work. I use 409 or Fantastic to degrease the trim. Then apply alcohol based Zinnzer or Bullseye primer. Follow instructions on primer, to the letter. Then lightly sand, and finish coat. For a smooth finish, freer of brush strokes, and lasting quality, I like to use oil based (alkyd) top coat. Roger
What he said :)
your better off sanding first espically if the poly is glossy
Paint
Degloss first sand - OR - use TSP (trisodium phosphate)
Lightly sand the trim. Steel wool may be better if the trim has crevices. Wipe off dust with mineral spirits, prime, and paint. Follow the paint manufacturer's directions. A very light sanding between coats is a good idea. Use a repair/trouble light to inspect for drips, sags, etc. Use the best quality paint you can find. Trim painting takes patience.
Yep. I'd not sand, I'd use TSP. Wipe down well. Prime (Bin), and paint.
Before I decided to use a redwood color stain after my remodel (gosh did I let myself in for a project!), I used Ben Moore's White Dove alkyd paint on all trim; it's a very good off-white for that. The alkyd does tend to yellow where there is no light (closets, inside of kitchen cabinets) so if I were to do it again I'd use the latex. Still very nice.
Banty
I was out buying baseboard earlier today. The cheapest was 99 cents per foot (pre-primed fiberboard). By the time you do a whole house, you're looking at hundreds of dollars. As others said, I would paint what I already have.
Well, I hear what you're saying about the cost of new trim. But frankly sanding hundreds of feet of trim all throughout the house sounds like a major pain in the neck too, especially if it's before and after the first coat. I think I'm looking at at least 3 coats total, whereas with preprimed trim it would only be one coat on top (assuming white on white). Does TSP really work fine rather than sanding/deglossing? Or is it actually a deglossing agent? Thanks for the tips.
You must be one heckuva great finish carpenter if you think it is less work to cut, trim, nail, putty, and possible caulk all that trim after you pull out all the old trim without damaging plaster or drywall.
JK
I'll trade you the trim in my house for the trim in your house. I'd love to have natural wood trim. It's on our Things to Do list, but pretty far down.
Frankly, any time I hear of someone painting wood, I think "Vandal! If you're going to paint it, it might as well be plastic."
Cindy Hamilton
Depends on the wood...finger-jointed, paint-grade poplar would look pretty ugly other than painted...otoh, when I was in VA and restoring old houses there, most that had been converted to apartments for sometimes nearly 50 years, finding wide mahogany, walnut, clear pine raised panel wainscotting having been sawed through for new doorways and somesuch, "just" 20 layers of paint to strip was relatively minor desecration to be joyful over... :(
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I'll trade you the trim in my house for the trim in your house. I'd love to have natural wood trim. It's on our Things to Do list, but pretty far down.
Frankly, any time I hear of someone painting wood, I think "Vandal! If you're going to paint it, it might as well be plastic."
Cindy Hamilton
The simplest solution is always the best, IMHO.
I'd use a liquid deglosser like NoSand, skip the primer, and just paint.
If the trim is hardwood, I'd leave it the hell alone, and decorate around it. Painting hardwood is a sin, and the next owner may prefer the look of real wood. (Another 10 years, and normal people won't be able to afford new real wood trim.) But that is just me. On older houses, first thing people usually want to do is take X coats of paint off of the interior trim, to get back to the nice crisp original profiles.
If it is merely pine, a good scuff sanding (physical or chemical) and degreasing/cleaning should give plenty of tooth for a quality interior trim paint to stick. I'd do one room at a time- it is going to be a lot more work than you think it is, sanding/scrubbing/painting in awkward positions, whilst NOT screwing up the wall and floor surfaces next to it. There is a reason people went with the harder clear finishes versus paint in the first place- trim takes a beating, so the less often you need to mess with it, the better.
aem sends....
YOU HAD BETTER BUY THE ALKYD PAINT NOW, IT HAS BEEN OUTLAWED AND WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE FOR THIS YEAR.
| > > I would paint vs replace trim, if trim is in good condition. Way less | > > work. I use 409 or Fantastic to degrease the trim. Then apply alcohol | > > based Zinnzer or Bullseye primer. Follow instructions on primer, to the | > > letter. Then lightly sand, and finish coat. | > > For a smooth finish, freer of brush strokes, and lasting quality, I like | > > to use oil based (alkyd) top coat. | > > Roger | >
| > What he said :) | | your better off sanding first espically if the poly is glossy |
The problem with oil paints is that as they dry or sit out in the open, they give off volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, that not only make the paint smell but interact with sun and heat to create ozone pollution. Alkyds create 170,000 tons of emissions a day in the so-called Ozone Transport Region. "It's one of the largest causes of VOC emissions, and it's comparable to some of the industrial plant sources,"
|| > > I would paint vs replace trim, if trim is in good condition. Way | less || > > work. I use 409 or Fantastic to degrease the trim. Then apply | alcohol || > > based Zinnzer or Bullseye primer. Follow instructions on primer, | to the || > > letter. Then lightly sand, and finish coat. || > > For a smooth finish, freer of brush strokes, and lasting quality, | I like || > > to use oil based (alkyd) top coat. || > > Roger || >
|| > What he said :) || || your better off sanding first espically if the poly is glossy || | |
NO NEED TO SHOUT!
State your source for this "theory". I use alkyd all the time for interior trim.
JK
[...]
What???!!!
Where???!!!
In all states? or which one(s)?
Citation, please?
Aspasia.
PLUS the preprimed stuff still needs sanding in my past experience, if you are going to do a good job, so you would be no further ahead.
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