Painting over finished wood trim
Somerville, MA · Member since 2017 · 21 posts · 14 votes
Hi All - I'm under agreement for a condo that has finished natural wood trim. Good news is that there is no lead paint. Bad news is that it looks very out of of date. I want to paint it white but am losing sleep at night thinking about having to sand off the finish. Does anyone have any experience with deglossing products aka "liquid sandpaper"? Would stripping entirely be the smarter option?
Hi, Jonathan. Here's one way to do this. There are other ways.
You need to scuff sand the trim by hand with 100-grit paper. You're not going for a deep sanding to bare wood.
You need an oil-based primer like Kilz Original to start with after the scuff sanding. This is oil-based primer. It costs about $19 a gallon. You thin it with mineral spirits, you do cleanup with paint thinner or mineral spirits. Wear a respirator with organic vapor cartridges as you apply it. Do two coats with foam rollers or (preferably for better coverage and because mini-rollers die in solvent-based paint) a natural-bristle brush. Black China bristle brushes are best for this and good ones (Purdy) are very hard to find. White China bristle brushes are much easier to find.
Kilz Original primer sands very well after it dries. Get out your 220-grit sandpaper and pad/detail sander after both coats fully dry (24 hours).
You will want to apply a high-quality water-based semi-gloss or gloss paint over this primer. This stuff will usually be marketed as a "water-based enamel." This terminology is misleading, but just ask the specialist at the paint store for the best waster-based trim paint he has. You can expect to pay upwards of $40 a gallon for this stuff. Use Purdy XL or a similar high-quality artificial bristle brush and foam rollers. The paint will be marketed as "paint+primer" and "one-coat-coverage." Ignore these lies.
For super bonus points, do two to three brushed coats with the paint thinned three parts paint to one part of a product called Floetrol. Check out the web for handy tips on how to use Floetrol. Floetrol is used with paint-spraying equipment but it also works to smooth out brush/foam roller marks.
Points to remember:
-- Avoid using "premium stripper" with methyl chloride, no matter how bad the finish is. You need SCBA breathing gear to use enough of the stuff over and over again to make your job easier.
-- We use a product called Citristrip that works well on small problem areas. It just takes time. You should use plastic scrapers/putty knives to scrape it off.
-- Do not aim for perfection. Perfection takes a lot of work.
-- Take doors off their hinges and paint them on sawhorses. It's easier and gets you to a better finish even though it takes longer.
-- Deglosser is a convenience product that works OK on finished wood, but it's primary use is as a quick-fix around light switches and often-touched painted drywall surfaces where there's lots of filth/grease on the wall. It will not get you to the long-lasting finish you need on a whole condo's trim.
Hi Jonathan.
Congrats on getting the condo under agreement. In Somerville...that's a feat in and of itself.
As for painting the wood trim, we've done at least 4 or so houses where we've painted the finished wood trim white without having to scrape it (2x in our primary residences) and they've turned out really well. There are some primers that work better than others on finished wood and allow you to get good coverage. I forget what we've used in the past (Kilz has a product I believe), but your painter should have a good idea as to what works best.
Scraping/sanding the surfaces will definitely allow you to get better coverage on the woodwork. One thing I've noticed is that places that see some friction, like door edges/jambs, the paint can wear off. But that is common without the base being finished wood.
Personally I would just prime/paint because it'll save you a lot of money in labor and looks good. To do it perfectly...you'd want to sand all the woodwork, but it'll be $$. I'd want to save the money and just have to do minor touch ups in the future.
- Rob
I'm not a professional, but in my primary residence I painted right over the wood trim finish. I lightly scuffed everything with sandpaper, just to help it adhere but I doubt that was necessary. It looks great now, two years later. For what its worth, we used the highest level of Behr paint that Home Depot offered.
Its a bit more pricey and if I remember correctly you need to put a wax coating over top after it dries but we have had great experience with chalk paint. We did that on the trim around our 2 big sliders as well as a barn door we put up and I really enjoy the look of the finish.
-Tim
Hi, Jonathan. Here's one way to do this. There are other ways.
You need to scuff sand the trim by hand with 100-grit paper. You're not going for a deep sanding to bare wood.
You need an oil-based primer like Kilz Original to start with after the scuff sanding. This is oil-based primer. It costs about $19 a gallon. You thin it with mineral spirits, you do cleanup with paint thinner or mineral spirits. Wear a respirator with organic vapor cartridges as you apply it. Do two coats with foam rollers or (preferably for better coverage and because mini-rollers die in solvent-based paint) a natural-bristle brush. Black China bristle brushes are best for this and good ones (Purdy) are very hard to find. White China bristle brushes are much easier to find.
Kilz Original primer sands very well after it dries. Get out your 220-grit sandpaper and pad/detail sander after both coats fully dry (24 hours).
You will want to apply a high-quality water-based semi-gloss or gloss paint over this primer. This stuff will usually be marketed as a "water-based enamel." This terminology is misleading, but just ask the specialist at the paint store for the best waster-based trim paint he has. You can expect to pay upwards of $40 a gallon for this stuff. Use Purdy XL or a similar high-quality artificial bristle brush and foam rollers. The paint will be marketed as "paint+primer" and "one-coat-coverage." Ignore these lies.
For super bonus points, do two to three brushed coats with the paint thinned three parts paint to one part of a product called Floetrol. Check out the web for handy tips on how to use Floetrol. Floetrol is used with paint-spraying equipment but it also works to smooth out brush/foam roller marks.
Points to remember:
-- Avoid using "premium stripper" with methyl chloride, no matter how bad the finish is. You need SCBA breathing gear to use enough of the stuff over and over again to make your job easier.
-- We use a product called Citristrip that works well on small problem areas. It just takes time. You should use plastic scrapers/putty knives to scrape it off.
-- Do not aim for perfection. Perfection takes a lot of work.
-- Take doors off their hinges and paint them on sawhorses. It's easier and gets you to a better finish even though it takes longer.
-- Deglosser is a convenience product that works OK on finished wood, but it's primary use is as a quick-fix around light switches and often-touched painted drywall surfaces where there's lots of filth/grease on the wall. It will not get you to the long-lasting finish you need on a whole condo's trim.
Thanks all for your replies!
@Robert Loiselle Thanks! The condo is actually in East Boston. Moving there to do a slow brrrr or live in flip and renting out my unit in my first deal, a house hacked 2 family in East Somerville. Very excited!
@Jim K. Wow! What a detailed post! This will be useful to a lot of people i'm sure. The finish isn't quite as old/mottled as the ones in your picture. More of a 90's gold wood with poly. I'll use some of your tips with others above.
We always paint the wood trim, wood paneling, anything that can be white-- should be! We do low income rentals, I aim for a solid B+- work!
Do a basic cleaning of it, and then go to to Sherwin Williams and get their best primer, it's about $60 gallon, but it sticks to anything! After it's prime, it will easily be painted! 2-steps.. and it's done! This wouldn't work for a flip that needs perfection, but if it's more just for aesthetics in a rental, it will do the job!
I've also painted MILES of old woodwork! Here in the Midwest, white woodwork is pretty traditional; I also am a fan because it's easy to touch up high-traffic spots between tenants.
As others have noted: wash it, lightly scuff-sand it, use the best primer you can stand to pay for & use a semi-gloss topcoat.
In my opinion, nice bright-white woodwork looks clean, tidy & freshens up a whole room. I always get comments from prospective tenants; "It's so CLEAN!" Well, it is, but the woodwork adds 50% to that impression.