Paint is always going to chip over time - which accounts for windows eventually getting painted shut which is a major PITA when you want smoothly operating windows that open easily.

Why not stain + clear finish - there are some lovely contemporary wood stain colors now - and many grays ranging from light silver tones up to dark charcoals if you dont like the wood tones.... various whites/colors too. What kind of wood? An opaque-ish white stain w/grain showing through + clear finish could be good if it MUST be white....

Well hey this is an old house luvvers forum - what can I say, we're an opinionated bunch. Youd probably get more of the answer you want in the paint forum.

BIN primer. Not Kilz(have no idea what Gripper is).

Reason? BIN will stick to any surface and stay stuck. I have primed paneling that had been oiled with BIN with no problems. I just painted lower kitchen cabinets with BIN without washing(did wash the uppers).

Two coats of paint should be sufficient(it is with Sherwin Williams).

Gripper would work just fine. I would still clean very well and just lightly sand before priming. If you were going to use the Kilz, only use the one that actually works, the original oil. I would go with the Gripper or 123 myself and avoid the smell of Bin or oil.

Making special effort so that paint doesn't adhere well is new and foward thinking I'd never heard of before now. I wonder if a painter has ever used that as reason for new paint peeling ( in case you want to get it off later).

Can't give advice on this. Still working on stripping the woodwork in my 1937 colonial. PLEASE live with it awhile before making the decision, I miss my old natural woodwork!

As part of the process of installing cherry and birdseye maple trim throughout our current house I invoked an elaborate curse to befall anyone who might paint it in the future.

I too have spent countless hours stripping paint off of woodwork, all the while wondering "what were they thinking??"

Add me to the group that hopes you will reconsider and NOT paint all that beautiful woodwork! I have beautiful wide oak trim in my old house... but there's still some remaining that has to be stripped of white paint. :(

" I invoked an elaborate curse to befall anyone who might paint it in the future."

That's so funny but I 100% agree with you.

I am a woodworker. Use wood stains, wood dyes, and all manner of clear/tinted finishes.

I have the original natural, stained woodwork in this 1965 built house. It is hideous. Pine and poplar wood, stained with fruitwood stain(a color that fell way out of favor early on), it did not age well.

Have sanded the doors to remove most of the stain color(it also bleaches), painted the original cabinets white and am in the process of painting the door/base molding white as well.

Looks MUCH better!!!!!

Now, when someone mentions painting oak, I get distressed. No matter the color, painted oak looks terrible.

So, not all wood looks good stained, and some look terrible painted.

Klem & all, paint adheres just fine to shellac. In fact shellac is often used as sealer or undercoat to paint. However IF someone wanted to remove the paint, the shellac barrier would help - it melts easily using a heat gun and it would have kept the paint from going into the pores of the wood. Thats why the suggestion to use it as the first layer.

Thanks, current, for your explanation.

I have stripped lots of paint from woodwork, and I was SO incredibly thankful for those areas which had shellac before being painted. It was such a breeze to remove.

The area which were not shellacked were a majpr, major pain - yes, many curses were invoked;)

It's a lot of extra work for you, and your house, so of course it's your call.

But if I ever lay new trim it will be with future generations in mind. Lest my descendants be cursed with horrendous paint stripping!

Also, a nice coat of shellac makes the paint go on better.