How to Paint Wood Trim (Part two)

Well, I spent the weekend ripping up carpet in my hallway. I got really lucky, there was no adhesive used, just staples! A lot of them, but I'll take it! I really didn't want to bust out chemicals to remove adhesive from the carpet padding.

That's me removing a tack strip, the hard way. We have big plans for this hallway.Something like this. 

Holy cow, what was I thinking?! It makes me laugh everytime.

I also, painted my front door- twice this weekend. Not twice as in it needed two coats, but twice as in the first color clashed horribly with the wall color. I used this color on my bead cabinet and it looks great, here not so much. A warm yellow next to a cool yellow doesn't work. It's now white, and I'm still thinking about the next color it will be. 

Okay, enough about my weekend, here's the second part to the How to Paint Wood Trim. If you missed the first part, you can check it out here.

I truly had a hard time finally deciding to paint the wood. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it, besides all of it needed re-stained  On one hand, I love the look of wood trim, on the other we would love to eventually sell our house. After finishing this project in the one room, I found I loved the way the white trim looked so crisp and fresh. Well, I better because there was no turning back. I also discovered how it made the mint paint on the walls appeared so much darker, but I'll save that for another post.

Yeah, doorways bite to paint. Just saying!

This was a huge undertaking for me. I had never done anything like this before and knew how much work was ahead of me. All of the trim in the whole house looks like this and I knew if I took on this project I'd have to paint all of it!

Supplies: I got everything from Lowe's

Tape

Primer of your choice (I used two different kinds oil based and water based)

Sanding sponge or paper

Paint (I used Valspar Shooting Star)

After all the trim was washed, filled, sanded and caulked it was time to prime. I ended up using two different primers, because I ran out of the first one. The first one I used was oil based and my favorite. I feel like it covered way better, and you can use a lot less! I only needed one coat of the oil based as opposed to the three in some spots for the water based. I had way more more of the wood stain showing through with the water based. That didn't happen at all with the oil based. However, cleanup's a breeze with the water based and it's way more environmentally friendly.  

*FYI- this is what the caulk looks like when it's dry and ready to paint. Goes on white, dries clear.

1. Tape off everything you don't want painted. I know a lot of people who have a steady hand and don't do this step. Me- I'm messy!

2. Prime, use thin coat. Priming helps to block stain and helps the paint to adhere to the wood.The trim around the floor only needed two coats. The trim around the window and doorways needed three. On both my primers, it said I could top coat it in an hour.

This is one of the reasons for priming, and the reason I like oil based primer. This was the first coat of primer and the stain was showing through it. That's why it took three coats of primer on some spots.

3. Sanding. I only sanded once between coats to keep the trim smooth. If you have any drips, don't be afraid to sand them down. If you skip this step and the primer has lumps and bumps you'll see it under the paint. Oh, and the oil based sands so much better than the water based.

Do these first to steps as many times as you need before you paint.

4. Paint. Since I was using a very white paint for the trim, I made sure I used a paint with primer. This may be overkill, but it worked out well. I also used a high gloss paint because I like the way it looks on trim and you can spot clean it. All the trim needed three coats.

5. Sand, again. This is were I messed up. I didn't do it and I found a few drips. Luckily they aren't in really noticeable places, which would drive me flipping crazy if they were. Just make sure you wait until the paint is dry.

Again, do these last two steps as many times as you want. 

I used three coats of paint. The paint needs to be really dry. I usually let the coats dry over night. If you don't, you'll have a gloppy mess and it will undo all of your hard work. Painting and priming really don't take as many steps as the prepping steps. 

I really love the way the white trim looks, nice and crisp. The white is more of a cool white. You could definitely pick up a warmer white. I actually matched it to the white in the windows. I'm glad I did, I feel like it opens the whole room up too.

*If you read the first part to this post you know I screwed up on the caulking and did it last. So, after I caulked I had to paint another coat on top of the caulk. Fun.

Have any of you taken on a project like this? I'd love to hear about it. I'd also, love to hear about any tips or tricks you might know.

How to Paint Wood Trim (Part One)

When it comes to painting furniture or trim prep work is key. Some of it sucks to do, but looks amazing in the end. Actually, painting doesn't take nearly as long. The reason for this post is I'm gearing up for what I think is a pretty big project and have a couple of days worth of prep work ahead of me. The project consists of 6 door and all of the trim in my hallway, which is all wood and its never been painted. 

So, instead of one giant post I'm going to split it into a couple of them. It won't be the most exciting of posts, but it's essential for a long lasting professional look. I really want you to know that this is my opinion and the products I name are the ones that I've used. There might be better product, I just have not used them.

I'll do this in steps in order of the way I do them, just to make it a little easier. So, here is what you'll need if you are prepping wood for painting. I am not including primer in here, because to me priming and painting go together.

Lint Free Cloth or Cloth Diaper
2- Buckets
2- Sponges
TSP- Trisodium Phosphate
Gloves
Wood Filler
Dust Mask
Sanding Sponge
Electric Hand Sander (for larger areas)
Vacuum cleaner or Wet/ dry Vac
Tacky Cloth
Caulk  

1. Wipe the wood down with a wet cloth. This is an optional step, but I've started doing this because the TSP water gets dirty fast and I find myself changing the water constantly.

2. Mix your TSP according to directions in one of your buckets. The other fill with water. Put one sponge in each of the buckets. Wear gloves when using TSP, it is a chemical and it will burn your fingers. This stuff is awesome, it helps remove the shine from the wood, so you don't have to sand as much and the paint will adhere to the paint better. Working in small areas, wring out your sponge, just so it's damp- not dripping and wipe it over the surface. Then grab your water sponge and go over the same area in the same motion as the TSP. So, you're putting it on and wiping it off. Change both the water and TSP water frequently, you don't want to be cleaning with dirty water.

3. Wood filler is next. You're going to want to check for holes, dings and nicks and fill them. Don't skip this step, if you don't fill them you will be able to see the indentations under the paint. 

The wood filler is really easy to use, you can squeeze it into the hole, or put it on your finger and smooth it over the nicks. Then take anything with a straight edge and wipe off the excess. Don't worry if you miss a little of it, in the next step you will be sanding so that will remove it. Go ahead and let it dry to what the back of the package says.

4. Sanding. You are going to want to wear a dust mask for this step. This is where you are going to remove the rest of the sheen. You are not removing the stain, you're just sanding enough to make the surface look flat. This is also a time you can sand down small scratches. Basically the ones that were too small to fill. This is also where you sand down the wood filler and make it flat. It's a good idea to work on a small area at a time. That way you can run your hand over the area to make sure it's smooth. Remember, you want a smooth, matte surface before you prime.  

5. Clean up. Sanding is a dirty, dusty job and it will be everywhere. It's best to clean it up as soon as your done. Take your vacuum and try to get as much of the dust up from the wood as you can, especially in the crevices. After that's done wipe it down with a clean, lint free, damp cloth or diaper. I then use the tacky cloth and wipe it all down again. All this wiping down might be overkill, but I just want it as clean as possible so the paint will adhere.  

6. Caulking, I'm just going to put this out there, I really don't like to caulk. It sucks and makes my fingers and back hurt, always. It's not hard, just time consuming and it takes me awhile to recover from it. No matter how much I don't like it, I would never skip this step, just because it makes the trim look brand new and polished. I get the kind of caulk you can paint, the other kind you apply after you paint and it can look obvious. The paintable kind blends in and gives it a seamless look, because you paint right over it. The picture shows me caulking after I had finished my last coat of paint only because I didn't know any better. I did paint over it again. Thank goodness a friend of mine who is a professional painter told me about it! If you use the other kind after you paint it can yellow and I definitely didn't want that next to my snow white trim!

The way I caulk is, I cut the tiniest hole in the tip that I possibly can and will still let the product flow. You really don't need much, just pipe it on taking care to work in small sections. 

You then take your finger and run it down over the caulk you just piped. Now you know why my finger hurts. They make tools for this step, but my finger worked way better. I just keep a paper towel with me so I can wipe the excess off my finger.


This sounds like a lot of steps, and for me it is. It takes me twice as long as it would someone else to get this done, even in a small room. After you get through all of these steps the only thing left to do it prime and paint!

I know this post really isn't the most exciting, but these steps are crucial for making my trim look as professional as possible. 

If I'm missing anything, please let me know in the comment section. I'd love to hear from anyone else who has taken on a project like this. Did you find it overwhelming?