There's no substitute for proper paint prep, which includes sandpaper. I have no idea why the painter didn't sand it when it first appeared, rather than adding another, thicker coat.
Casey

The fix is to leave the trim in place, sand out the edges (hand sand with the grain), finish with very fine sandpaper and repaint.

Come on - A painter is supposed to sand down the entire length of pre-primed material with two levels of sand paper? What is the benefit of paying for it to be primed then? We got a second batch delivered for the garage - wish the lots had been reversed - and that paints out beautifully. It is one solid piece of wood. We are talking hours and hours of sanding - I have never in all my years of remodeling homes ever seen where that was necessary for pre-primed trim even un-primed has only required minimal sanding prep. Sanding out fills for nail holes and the like sure - but not full length serious grinding out of stripes. I did the painting on all our previous jobs and believe me I am not an expert just careful and it looked 100% better than this does. The genuine shock of my rep when she saw the trim tells you this is not a "typical" experience. Our base and crown are gorgeous - beautiful finish. So something is not right

We are talking about trying to sand out 2 full length vertical lines on a 1x4 pre-primed piece of trim. It is a laborious and nearly impossible task to get perfect since the line runs all the way through the wood. It is usual to see finger joints running horizontally and those need extra attention to hide but this is not typical and my painters are not at fault. The GC told him he did not think it could be sanded out because it goes all the way through so the floating the thicker paint to "fill" the shadow line was just a test on one piece of trim.

Our GC is going to try the sanding next week. Hopefully we can get it to look better.

I think carefully using a stripper followed by sanding might get you back to the strarting point where it can be finished back properly.

My wife and i considered clay/plaster. Sounds like we made a good decision not to go there as if it cant be touched up, how are you going to deal with dents and dings that happen in life?

I think what is being missed is that this trim was improperly made - so there is no proper way to finish it for sanding. Fusing 3 vertical pieces of wood together is not at all typical of trim especially a 1x4 - we are not talking a wide piece of wood. You should not have to "finish it properly" as it comes pre-primed and should have a flat even surface - sure maybe a ding or two or a horizontal finger joint to fix - but not what is required to hide these distinct horizontal ridges.

Seriously - would anyone here be satisfied with having to do a 2 level sanding job - that would not completely fix the problem - on each and every piece of 1x4 door trim?! 14 feet of length for each door - we have 12 in just the open area. It is like trying to sand all the surfaces out of an oak door to re-paint it smooth. I paid a lot for a paint ready surface - I should not need to find a solution - but unfortunately I do.

I posted on the paint forum and may have found the solution - and the oak door example ;-) A product called brushing putty. It has 5 times the fill power of a normal primer. It paints on like primer and you fine sand it smooth. THe photos posted by forum users on oak doors were amazing. my ridges are not as deep as some of the wood grain on the doors so I am ordering some to try.

You know I have received a lot of great information on these forums but I am struck by how often someone posts a problem and gets pretty snarky responses that aren't necessary or helpful.

"Sounds like we made a good decision not to go there as if it cant be touched up, how are you going to deal with dents and dings that happen in life?"

Dents and dings that happen in life can be fixed. However, removing permanently installed, caulked and primed trim is going to require a lot of force - we are talking big chunks removed all around each door - that is hardly a simple touch up job that can be compared to a dent or ding from life. We were given a pot of the clay for these dings and a dried sample we can re-wet to make a paste and fix any issues that happen 5+ years from now. Most surface dings can be fixed with a wrung out sponge. THe clay application process happens in 2 layers - the top layer being the finish. The damage caused by removing the door trim would require another layer on the entire wall to make it look consistent. It is an artistic application and the final look is unique to the craftsman that applies it - his trowel strokes applied over a large wall cannot be blended into all the door areas without it being very obvious the two were not done at the same time.

I think you are missing the point. Proper prep work can fix this with no problems. It isn't hard. It isn't impossible. It's fixable. Yes, it's labor intensive, but you're getting the money back from the trim company to spend on that labor to fix it. And, really, if it was so impossible to see visually at first, you can't fault the trim comany. Who you CAN fault is the painter, because even after a first coat, he should have been able to see/feel the issue and brought it to your attention that the area was going to need additional prep to come out to your standards. But, he kept going and even tried a half assed fix of a "thicker coat of paint". That's bull. Thicker paint NEVER hides an underlying problem. Better prep does. So, sand it down, and if you have to use some wood filler or Bondo to even the whole thing out to the glass like smoothness that you want, that's NOT a big deal to someone who can actually DO prep and not just brush on a top coat.

The problem seems to have been caused by the manufacturer. It seems to me a lot of folks failed to see it. The solution is now up to you.

There are millions of board feet of wood trim made by joining pieces of wood together in various ways. I have grain matched(well enough for a cursory glance to miss the scarf joint) different pieces of stained trim on many occasions.

However, I found hiding the joints in painted trim is actually more difficult. Because the paint covers the joint and any deviation/difference is highlighted.

Most often that difference is because the joint is misaligned, but sometimes the difference is in the wood itself. Different pieces of the same wood have different textures. Those textures cause the primer/paint to have different looks. It is usually difficult to see those differences with just primer---because the primer has, by design, a rough surface. The wood grains absorb the primer at a different rate, which creates a different look to the final coat.

Without pictures, it is impossible to tell why the trim ilooks bad, or why the finish is not working. It is possible to hide defects with paint---but the primer and first coat or two have to be sanded---simply adding more paint will not hide the defect.

These type problems show up with gloss or semi-gloss paints more so than with eggshell or matte finishes---due to the smoothness of the final coat. That is one reason eggshell is favored by builders----lots of defects in drywall finishing are not as evident.

So, the fix for your problem might be as easy as sanding the finish already on and applying another topcoat. It might require removing all the paint, prepping the area with a filler, sanding, and refinishing.

A competent finisher with experience---and the key here is that experience---should be able to make it look great.

A good painter with no experience in fixing this problem will not have the information already---a painter interested in learning and doing it right could easily find how/learn to/do it right.

Good tip on brushing putty.

My wife and i considered clay/plaster. Sounds like we made a good decision not to go there as if it cant be touched up, how are you going to deal with dents and dings that happen in life?

That's snarky?

For the first time, I had custom paint finishes put on many of our walls to resist/disguise kids' handprints. It works great. And when enough damage is still done, I've called in the painter for a couple hours of repairs. Still worth it. (Though the most damage was done by moi slopping a protective coating on a fireplace mantel and surround.)

Some customers expect flawless work. They let you know real fast if you have satisfied them by their approbation or lack thereof. Yes, all-trim and prime-trim need sanding and fresh primer for first class work. When was the primer applied? How long has it been sitting around the warehouse? We can be certain it was applied quickly, but was it applied well?
Casey

Ok - I get it - I should not have expected to get what I paid for and was specifically told by my rep I would get ;-) - a superior primed trim that should not require much prep work and would provide a near flawless finish - not my words - hers. She also specifically said it would save time and money painting. I now know for future reference - if I were ever to rebuild a whole house again and I'm not! -that I fell for a good sales job. My GC seemed to agree with her but he is not a painter. I knew going in that he has strengths and weaknesses - I would say trim finish is probably not a strength but my builder cousin came out to visit during the framing and said it was about as well-framed as we could expect it to be - a top notch job. I'd rather know the bones are good and deal with some finish issues.

My painter did say it would require another coat of primer and they did the typical filling and sanding before priming and painting. It turns out it is a sheen level higher than eggshell so perhaps we will go with eggshell if the brushing putty doesn't do the trick on its own. I will certainly speak to him about why he did not notice the ridges when it seems that 100% think he should have. I did not notice after the primer he put on when I stopped by the job site - during our weeks of rain here in CA.But I wasn't painting it. He noticed at the first coat of the higher sheen finish and that is where we are now.

One piece has now been sanded well with two grades of sandpaper and primed and painted and the lines are still there. This was done by my GC's foreman - he has specialized in restoring original moulding in historic homes and does beautiful work so I have now had a second opinion - so to speak.

It does sound like I am ahead that my trim rep believes I received bad trim and is going to refund my money. Otherwise I would have paid the labor cost for all the sanding myself - if the painter had noticed right away and taken the time to do it - and still had lines in my trim. Now I know the sanding doesn't get rid of the problem and can go straight the the brushing putty and hope for the best. I honestly don't really care about a "glass" finish - I just don't want to be sitting in my beautiful new living room surrounded by doors and floor to ceiling windows with stripes running down them! I'd even take a couple drips for an overall smooth appearance at this point.

THanks for the feedback - even as I seemed to have trouble "getting it."

I think what is "being missed" here is that you initially asked for "the fix" that hadn't been considered and then got some good advice. Whether you appreciate that advice or not, it's unrelated to the sympathy and finger-pointing that you seem to seek instead.

LOL - yup, shame on me for trying to figure out where the problem really lies and who I should hold accountable for not getting what I paid for.

Yes, I initially asked for help with what I thought was defective trim. Other posters suggested it was poor prep work. I did not think that was the problem since my trim rep thought the trim was defective.

We have done what you and others suggested. We sanded a few pieces of trim in another room - no fresh primer or paint added yet. Primed and painted it and the lines still show up - even though you can't "feel" them you can see them.

And yes, I am a little defensive that after explaining the trim is most likely defective everyone insists that it is simply poor prep. It isn't poor prep- the lines cannot be sanded out. I did not hire some cut-rate outfit on our job - they do beautiful work. THey know how to sand out a piece of wood properly but this wood isn't sanding - is it what they used to fuse the pieces together that won't sand? IS it different wood graining? WHo knows - but we cannot get this trim to paint out smooth with sanding.

I'm dropping it - should have before this post probably.

It might be possible to pull the casing from the jamb side. It will take a lot of care and patience working the casing loose enough to get a saw that has a handle on one end only and accepts a hacksaw blade,(sorry i dont know the name of the saw). That way you could cut the fasteners from the back side of the casing. All caulkings would either have to be removed or scored loose with a blade knife first.

"I'm dropping it - should have before this post probably."

Interesting. (snarky??)

Well, you did not provide pictures---which caused all of us----many of whom have some experience---to 'suppose' what the problem was.

I said nothing about your expectations or what you were supposed to believe. I simply presented the best reapir information I could----given the provided information.

And got disrespected for my efforts. As did others.

But, I find that is fairly common on internet forums----you get wht you pay for.

I re-read the OP, nowhere was is stated that the lines observed were actually depressions. I wrongly assumed that they were slight raised lines, like nicked blades create. This primary lack of understanding of the nature of the problem is inherent on the web, especially in the absence of a photo or scrupulously accurate description. If I was snarky, that was never my intent here. I try to be clear, succinct, curt, even. But not hurtful.
Now that I understand, after re-reading all of the OP's responses, I see that the condition was caused at the factory. When wood is edge-glued with water-based glue, the wood swells. If it is thicknessed (by planing or sanding) before the moisture content equalizes, the depressed tracks will result from differential shrinkage along the joint. It's their bad.
Pre-primed trim always needs sanding and fresh primer, IMO. As an added benefit, the fresh wet primer may have highlighted the depressions one step earlier.
Casey

Casey - thank you for taking the time to respond and explain - I know I was not communicating well - and obviously I was getting frustrated because I did not seem to be able to find a way to explain the issue and why the solutions wasn't obvious- and then indeed I got defensive.

My painter did sand and prime initially - he told me the very same thing - "You don't save time buying pre-primed trim." So there is my lesson for next time - without the primer the situation would have been obvious and we would not have put it up. Honestly, I am not sure my painters eye-site is the best. He said he noticed the lines but assumed it would paint out like finger joints etc. When they sanded it to the wood they discovered one 7 ft piece was made up of 20+ different sections of wood! My GC says he has never seen trim like that. It wasn't what I ordered and someone delivered the wrong trim because the second batch we got - they shorted the first - is perfect and looks VERY different from the first. A pretty decent prime and very smooth finish. Unfortunately it is in our garage - which will be finished as a family room but isn't where I cared about a nice trim job ;-)

Anyway, a lot of miscommunication and I really appreciate you taking the time to respond - thank you.

Why, again, would not the builder be responsible for ripping the trim out and putting in and finishing the propper trim...?