prepping pre-painted trim

16 years ago

Our living room has white semi-gloss trim. I want to repaint using a similar white semi-gloss latex. My question is, how much do I need to sand and prime? If a light sanding (to make sure the new paint adheres, but without exposing the wood beneath) is enough, will priming be necessary?

Thanks!

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Comments (7)

Michael
16 years ago
The surface only needs to be dull.
Sand lightly with a #220 aluminum oxide sandpaper. Rinse and wipe dry.

Apply two coats of quality 100% acrylic enamel.

Michael
kimcoco
16 years ago
Why do you need to sand? If you are applying acrylic over acrylic, you should not need to sand. Are you sanding to remove imperfections? Are you sure the existing paint is a latex and not an oil base? If you paint over an oil base, I believe you would have to prime otherwise the paint won't cure.

As long as the woodwork is clean and dust free, the paint will adhere no problem.

Sounds like you are doing more work than you have to.
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If the house is new, you do not need to use a solution like that. A mild mixture of ammonia and water is fine (if it's dirty) If it's not dirty, proceed to the sanding process. The sanding process is your best prep on stained trim. Sand to dull with #180 grit sanding sponge.Fill any nail holes with spackle at this time and sand with trim. Go lightly, just enough to dull it. Vacuum away dust and wipe clean. Prime with a quality bonding primer. I suggest a heavy bodied primer for this. Heavy bodied primer will block better. Gripper & Fresh Start All Purpose Acrylic primer will do a great job. Sand primed surface to smooth with #220 grit sanding sponge. Light sanding is all that is required. Vacuum dust Now Caulk all gaps and joints and wipe clean with damp cloth. Allow caulk to dry a minimum 4 hours prior to painting. Use the highest quality 100% acrylic paint applied with a high quality Chinex brush. Two full coats. Michael
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pirula
16 years ago
You sand to give the surface "teeth" for the new paint to adhere to. You also need to ensure you get any dust off before you paint. I'm surprised brushworks doesn't feel priming is also necessary. But he's the pro, not me. I guess I went for overkill. Our trim was all new and raw wood, but I did repaint some existing, painted cabinets and an existing chair rail.

I disagree that you can just go ahead and paint. The surface needs to be clean. I suppose a light sanding gets rid of dirt too. I did Dirtex, prime, and repaint. I didn't sand, the surface was dull enough from the Dirtex. So far so good.

Ivette
kimcoco
16 years ago
Yes, that's why I said as long as it's clean and dust free, the paint should adhere no problem. I repainted our woodwork which was prepainted - I just wiped it clean with a cloth to remove any dust or residue, painted it and it looks beautiful. (I did this two years ago). If you are applying latex to latex, you don't need teeth to adhere to. I don't know where you get that from. I worked for a painting company, and I purchase all my paint from a reputable store, and I've never heard of sanding existing paint to make another coat adhere to it. Maybe you aren't using good quality paint?
sherry326
16 years ago
Believe it or not (probably not), but I actually painted latex over my trim that had previously been painted with an oil based paint. As for sanding, I dont have any patience for that - didn't happen. And, it was only one coat of paint.

It's been over 8 years and still looks great, but I'm sure that any day now it will go bad!
catpurrson
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for all the responses. As it happens, I cleaned and sanded the trim before painting, and did a very light sand in between coats too. It looks beautiful, and, dare I say, just like a great professional job! The first sanding was a lot of work, but there were some very obvious brushmarks left by the previous painter that I was trying to level out. I really had to put my arm into it, but looking at the results, it was so worth it.
Michael
16 years ago
Ivette,

if it were large wall surfaces and or flat paints, I would have suggested a prime coat. Today's quality paints adhere very well to any clean, dull surface. A semi gloss surface is already a hard surface and it's sealed well. A light sanding, or heavy sanding to get out imperfections is all you need to do when using high quality enamels.

Michael