Hello-

My current home is full of cheap pine trim that has been painted brown. As part of updating the house before selling next year, I'd like to repaint the trim work.

To contrast with the wall colors, I think painting white would be generic, easy, and look nice. I expect to have to paint over with Kilz, but wanted some more info first from folks that have done this before.

How many coats of Kilz will be necessary? (is there a better product for trim?) How many coats of paint on the Kilz will be necessary? I want to avoid the gloopy globby paint I've seen on most trim that is painted -- is this even possible?

(My first preference is stained wood, but stripping and staining all this trim would be a waste of time and a lot of effort. The trim is just not high enough quality to justify that work -- plus I'm selling next year)

The doors are also brown, but have a noticeable texture to them. I'm not so sure painting them will cover up this texture. They're also cheap hollow doors.

Any suggestions? Thanks much in advance!

 

hi
you can get a high hide primer
or
i used aluminium paint work fine and cheapper

 

Kilz is a good enough primer IMO. 1 coat is sufficent although it will likely take 2 coats of latex enamel to completely cover. Use quality paint it will cover better and apply easier. The doors were probably rolled and have a light texture from the roller. Sanding will take care of this.

 

Actually the texture on the doors is the wod texture. You can still see the grain. I'm concerned that if I paint over them, I'll still have that texture.

Painting the doorjams seems like it would build up material on them and cause the doors to stick (or at least tighten). How can this be avoided?

 

I am doing what you are thinking about. It took two coats (at least) of primer to cover up the dark brown stain. I haven't painted the top coats, but I expect to have to paint 2 coats of white latex. I can't remember today whether my favorite brand is kilz or zinnsser 123, but I think it is the latter, I know by what the can looks like.

I can already tell it is going to make a huge difference in the brightness of this basement when it all gets painted light.

 

How did you deal with the added thickness of the doors and jams? Do your doors stick now?

 

Do your doors already stick? I've never had a problem with doors sticking just by painting a couple of coats of paint. In fact I removed all the layers of the front door of our house last year (about 15 coats over 50 years) and there was never a problem with 15 coats of paint sticking in the door. I removed the paint because it had started to crack.

That being said, my doors are 4 sliding doors on a basement closet and the trim surrounding them, so it is not something that is a problem. If your doors are sticking at the top, then buy or rent or borrow an electric planer and plane down that door. I tried to use a hand plane, that is pretty much worthless because the wood is going in the wrong direction. I borrowed a friends electric planer, it could not have been easier or faster. I don't know about the sides. Sounds like if you have to plane the sides of your door, whoever installed the doors installed them too tight to the frame. But it may work to plane the sides of the door if you have too, I don't know.

 

Nope -- my doors don't stick now, but I'm thinking ahead. Seems everything I do around this house has a negative consequence.

 

Oh, and were you able to cover up the grain? Or did you even have a wood grain. I don't mean just a visible wood grain. I mean a real texture from whatever wood was used. That is, they're thin little ruts in the wood.

I wish I knew what this style was called. It basically means that the wood door is not smooth but has texture running vertically.

 

I think I can picture your wood grain doors. Most doors do not have a raised grain on them. Mine don't. But I think I have seen painted doors which have the wood grain on and they looked fine. Couldn't you sand down the grain if you really hate them (electric sander). Is it really wood or plastic simulating wood.
If your doors and trim is as ugly as mine, you wouldn't hesitate to brighten up the look.

I think if you do a good job in the painting and take care with no drips and complete coverage, that the whole thing with painting the trim and doors will make an incredible difference. But if you do a messy job with the painting it will make the whole thing look worse than when you started. I'm just your basic homeowner with high painting standards, but if you look at bad jobs you have to admit what a difference it makes.

So if you are worried about how the painted doors will look, just paint the trim completely, primer and finish coats and then live with it and see if you think it would be improved with painting the doors. You could always post a picture on a website and ask for people to vote on this forum.

I have doors where the trim is white and the doors have been urathaned to natural wood color. The house came this way. It is a 1950's house and I'm thinking this was the style back then. In this case it doesn't look too bad, although I have thought about painting them (but that is 5 doors, both sides - can't just do one when all 5 doors come together) That being said, this is NOT the ugly brown that the doors in the basement were stained. If the doors upstairs were stained that ugly dark brown (maybe walnut, but doesnt seem reddisd enough for walnut) -- I'll call it that ugly 1970's brown that my family stained the wood in my fathers office -- I would not hesitate to paint it and it would move way up on my list of improvements.

 

You probably have a prefinished wood grain masonite door. They were fairly popular in the 70's & 80's. They paint well but the grooves remain.