We used 1x6 for base, crown and tops of doors/windows. (Beams/crown in this photo are cedar.) 1x4 on sides of windows. Ours is stained. Dust isn't that bad, no more than regular trim. I wipe it with a Lysol, etc wipe or damp sponge once a year. Been in house 4 years. fwiw, we got the idea from a neighborhood we toured that is done in Craftsman style. All their houses use plain boards for trim/painted. Here's a shot of the breakfast that shows it pretty well. I don't normally leave photos large, but will so you can see it better:

I have absolutely no issues with using the proclassic primer and didn't need to practice with it at all. I guess I just don't get that. I also have used many a brush, but like the nylon for this application. I don't have brush strokes...but I don't paint as much as a pro so perhaps it's use and use and use :) I think that people are reading the information in my clipping incorrectly. The COLOR code I put in there is for a color called Woodsey Brown which is an exterior color (you typically get more deep tones in exterior colors) but the PAINT is NOT and exterior paint. Just the color! The proclassic primer adhears to ANY surface, without sanding. I love the stuff because I've used it on some very glossy surfaces and it's held like magic! I do wash surfaces and make sure they're free of dust and dirt, but I rarely sand anymore. My professional painter was very skeptical but is now sold on the quality of these two products together. The primer is a gem, and the quality of the top coat is wonderful as well. I like a high quality finish and a strong finish as well...and together these two will give you that in any combination of colors ;)

I guess I'm passe...I only use high gloss because I find chipped up paint on my doors and trim to be a bit passe as well :oP Here's a picture (I'll try to find a few) of my trims...No they're not distracting :) They just look rich IMO: Oh and by the way...the color I'm using (the brown) is the code that is attached to the "exterior" name. I actually have a can of the paint here...It does say it's an interior/exterior paint on the little color label. The actual label of the paint jar says: All Surface Enamel, Acrylic Latex High Gloss. What I have here is a deep base since I'm testing out different dark colors for this house, but it comes in all colors. The jar label is turquoise (blue green) just in case they ask. It's FABULOUS trim paint...I would use NOTHING else an no other sheen if I were you, but then again, I like a classic look on trims and doors and don't follow trends: Pics: In some of these pics there are two colors of trim (we were in the process...still are...of remodeling the entire house and I'd started trim work). It's always the dark tone that's the new paint. The light is horrible orange varnish over oak...and I didn't sand it :) If your painter "won't" paint without sanding using these products, get another one, but if your painter is any good...they'll discuss this with you. My current guy was skeptical and I asked him to try the product and test it. He did so, and agreed to use it after a test. He still would have done it without the test but I had to guarantee it, verses him guaranteeing it as he would normally do using his paints. He likes the product so much he's going to use it on his jobs that insist on latex (he still likes oil based paints). Some of these pics have flash...if there are high points in the lighting, it's the flash or the bright sunshine (we get a lot of sun) so I included different times of day in the pics. I really like the level of sheen but again...I'm a classic, and lazy girl...and only like to paint once LOL. (I'm obsessing on the passe thing....) Look at some high end designer photo's...they're using gloss or oil paints on trim. Apparently passe is in fashion. I think the lower sheens...tend to be more popular with the builder beige sprayed on the walls...lower sheens hide mistakes...higher sheens show errors.

I've also painted old stained trim with no regrets. I did not strip it all (tried at first, but it was very aged and too difficult even with chemical strippers and heat guns!)- I simply sanded and used high quality Ben Moore primer and paint with excellent results. I personally much prefer white-painted trim to stained, UNLESS the house is of unusually high build quality. I come from a family of architects so am probably a bit overly-sensitive to proportion and design, so YMMV... but I feel like stained trim really calls attention to each element: doors, windows, baseboards, crown moldings are all brought into high contrast with stain and their placement and proportions become important design elements in a room. If they were well and thoughfully designed originally, that can be a beautiful thing. If not -I'd paint them. Our last house was a 1926 Foursquare. it was definitely much better built than most homes today, however, it was probably a Sears kit house originally, basically a builder-home from that era. i.e. not architect-designed like the previous Victorian I'd lived in. It had stained fir trim (with nice details) throughout, and DH and our friends thought I was crazy to paint it. Guess what? The house looked SOOO much better after I did. It actually became a much classier-looking house. The dark wood around doors and windows -which had been placed pragmatically rather than for aesthetics- made the house seem a bit akward. The white paint allowed the really GREAT elements in the house, like it's gorgeous birch floors, ample sunlight and great "flow", to really shine. Just my 2 cents!