Quarter Round and Paint

[Mike OMelia]

I am starting some remodeling in my house. One thing that has driven me nuts is that most of the painted quarter round has had all of the paint flake off, even in low traffic areas. I plan to use red oak quarter round finished natural for most things, but I still will use some painted. What is the best way to prepare this stuff so it stays looking good? I have not seen this in other folks homes, so I assume my contractor did something to cause it.

Mike

[Mark Bolton]

First would be to not waste time and money on oak if your going to paint it. Pine, poplar, or another smooth option would be better. Beyond poor prep and application there are many issue which will lead to paint failure but the most common is moisture. No idea of your particular situation but many issues from heating systems, to foundation and crawl space issues, can all lead to moisture. Your best bet will be to at the least prime all sides of your trim and a good top coat. I would think if you had systemic moisture issues you would be seeing it in many finishes not just the 1/4 round. It may point to a quick/sloppy job initially.

[Mike OMelia]

OK, I should have pointed out I was using pine or poplar for the painted stuff. Maybe I should use Kilz to seal? No, no known moisture problem. Must be a poor job from the start. IS Kilz overkill?

[Mark Bolton]

OK, I should have pointed out I was using pine or poplar for the painted stuff. Maybe I should use Kilz to seal? No, no known moisture problem. Must be a poor job from the start. IS Kilz overkill?

I dont think its overkill. If you can take the time to at the least prime all sides your way ahead of the game. If this is 1/4 round used as shoe molding and in mopped areas there is the potential for moisture to be against the bottom and back edges of the molding. But again, I would think youd be seeing problems on bottoms of door casings, jambs, cased openings, and so on. If your only seeing it on the 1/4 round perhaps it was added after some changes/floor refinish/etc.. and simply quick painted. No idea, many possibilities.

[Mike OMelia]

I really think it was an issue with the original contractor. Cheap paint, etc. Probably that pre-primed stuff. I dunno. I'm just going to go with Kilz as my primer/sealer. I'm pulling the old stuff and putting in new quarter round so I can seal all around. That ought to provide better protection. Thanks! I ppreciate it.

Mike

[Mark Bolton]

Sounds like your on the right track... its never a bad idea to do a good job who wants to get down there and deal with this stuff again!!! good luck!!

[Frederick Skelly]

Mike, after you prime it be sure to use an oil based paint. I found that even good quality latex, specifically designed for trim, showed chipping and signs of wear noticably sooner. When I used oil it held up better. I wont pretend to know why. But multiple painters they confirmed my experience matched theirs.
Fred

[Jim Neeley]

IME the largest contributors to peeling of flaking paint indoors is latex over oil-based paint, especially if the oil based was gloss or semi-gloss.

[Frederick Skelly]

Yeah, that crossed my mind too Jim. Good point.

[Mike OMelia]

Well, I hope I'm not screwing up. I've primed with Kilz, and I am using Valspar Ultra. (Latex). Two coats of Kilz Original, gonna lightly sand when dry. This has got to make a good bed for the final coats. Hope!

[Jim Matthews]

I was taught to lightly sand all planed surfaces with 220 grit to raise the grain slightly.

The passage of a sharp blade at high speed leaves a highly polished surface, equal to the grit of the last abrasive used on the blade.
Above 6000 grit, the surface may be so smooth that paint won't adhere properly, that's more pronounced on vertical surfaces where
the weight of the paint droplet is greater than the surface tension.

[David Werkheiser]

I think the biggest problem is that most people do not clean and prep surfaces properly. The only finish that doesn't need to be sanded between coats for adhesion is nitrocellulous lacquer (which melts into the previous coats). As others have said, water and chair legs bumping into 1/4 round pop the paint off the previous coats.
David

[Mike OMelia]

Yes, nitro melts into other layers. There are waterborne lacquers that do that as well. Even so, most folks I know, including myself (I build guitars) will scuff sand lacquers if more than 12-24 hours have passed between successive coats. Helps avoid "witness lines" (where sand back exposes layers).