Trim Help Needed

[Jim Young]

Our current house has the standard pine trim that has been stained dark and then covered with what I'm guessing is poly. SWMBO has decided that "we" are going to paint the trim white. Is there anything that I need to do to prepare the surface before painting? Right now I'm thinking that I will have hit the trim with sand paper and then some tsp to remove the oils possibly on the trim work. What do you guys think? TIA

[Rob Russell]

Our current house has the standard pine trim that has been stained dark and then covered with what I'm guessing is poly. SWMBO has decided that "we" are going to paint the trim white. ... What do you guys think?

Like you're going to get an opinion out of this crowd.

Something to consider is replacing the trim instead of painting it. Our house has 1970's, cheap builder grade, pine clamshell trim with a single-coat dark pine stain/sealer finish. We're ripping out and replacing all the trim. As it happens, I'm doing stained oak because SWMBO doesn't like painted trim, but there's another big reason. That reason is that we'll be introducing trim with a much more interesting profile than the cheapo stuff that's on there now.

You could use MDF or poplar and mill your own trim. A coat of primer with semigloss or gloss latex finish coat and I suspect you'll have trim that looks nicer than painted over dark pine. If you're happy with the current trim's profile, I don't see why scuff sanding and priming with KILZ wouldn't work.

Naturally, milling trim requires good toys and I unashamedly talked with SWMBO about toy upgrades as part of the retrim project. That includes doors, so it's a serious undertaking - perhaps more than you're thinking of.

Rob

[Jim Becker]

If you paint, cleaning, sanding and priming with Kilz or similar will be necessary. The latter two steps insure that your paint will have "tooth" and actually stick to the trim

Replacement is certainly a worthy consideration, too. I'm using pre-primed MDF trim in my kitchen renovation project, both to save time and update the profiles as Rob mentions. Replacement will be more expensive than painting, especially on a whole house, but your time is also valuable.

[Phil Phelps]

Jim, not to knock any one else, but......first of all, NO KILZ on wood work. Kilz sets too fast. You won't be able to brush out the strokes and it'll look horrible. You need a high quality oil base primer. I'd use either Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore. You need to wash the wood surface and degloss. Several products on the market for that. Please visit a "real" paint store. Fill all nail holes, cracks, and seams with spackling, sand with 220. Where wood trim meets wood trim, you need to caulk those joints and prime. Some of those hidden holes, and such, will pop out when you prime. Fill them and spot prime. I'm an oil base man when it comes to interior wood work. Talk it over with the "real" paint store rep., you may want to use interior latex enamel. (I'd still use oil base primer either way.) You won't be able to hide the strokes as well with latex enamel, it is not as tough a finish, but it will not age, (discolor) over time. China bristle brush for oil base paints, and nylon for latex. On a flat surface you can, and should, roll with an enamel roller cover, and then brush it out with a loaded brush. One coat of primer and two finish coats. No skimping here. And, cover the floors with a good drop cloth. I even use plastic underneath for extra protection. Hope this helps.

[Jim Becker]

Jim, not to knock any one else, but......first of all, NO KILZ on wood work. Kilz sets too fast.

I can accept that! (Although I have some pine woodwork and doors I can't replace that absolutly need the seal coat as whatever "finish" the previous owner put on bleeds though anything else I've tried, including oil-based primer)

Thanks for the needed advise and correction!

[Jason Roehl]

I can accept that! (Although I have some pine woodwork and doors I can't replace that absolutly need the seal coat as whatever "finish" the previous owner put on bleeds though anything else I've tried, including oil-based primer)

Thanks for the needed advise and correction!

Have you tried BIN by Zinsser? It's a pigmented shellac. Generally, stains will often show through a primer-sealer, but be covered with the topcoat. I can't remember the last time I encountered something that actually bled through 2 coats of pigmented shellac. Another product in my stain-fighting repertoire is ICI/Dulux/Glidden's Stain Jammer, although they have come out with some new iterations of it since I last used it, including a waterborne version.

Whatever you use, quick-dry is usually the way to go. The reason is that you want the solvents in the primer-sealer to flash off before they have a chance to dissolve the stain and bring it to the surface, where the stain can be redissolved by successive coats. BIN accomplishes this quite well, although sometimes the stains will bleed through the first coat, particularly today's "permanent" markers.

[Jim Becker]

Have you tried BIN by Zinsser?

Acutally, that's what I've used successfully. I misspoke in my original post about Kilz...force of habit.

[Phil Phelps]

Have you tried BIN by Zinsser? It's a pigmented shellac. Generally, stains will often show through a primer-sealer, but be covered with the topcoat.

This is for those who read this for a little info. Jason and I talk regularly. For stains, I agree that Bin is exceptional. And, especially, if you spray it. I didn't think about a "stain". I was thinking to prime coat existing wall that was stained. Maybe I overlooked this. Bin is a super procuct, don't try brushing it in hot weather