Find out where he bought the crown (assuming its not Barker) so you can find out what the factory finish is. There's a good chance you can just paint over it with an angled brush and matching cabinet paint.

A contractor actually said white is white? Spooky!

If there’s any gloss to it, the paint should be roughed up a bit so the new coat of paint will stick. I’ve never used the liquid sandpaper. I’d just get a sanding block with a fine grate to it and give it a light sanding. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but make sure you wipe it off with a tack cloth real good afterwards to ensure you have all the dust off.

Faron is the resident master of paint though and he may be able to advise about the Liquid Sandpaper.

There is gloss aplenty on it. So much it looks plasticized. Sanding crown with all its crevices and rounded edges 10 feet in the air is daunting. Yes, JTL, scary is why I’d prefer not to have him come back to make a bad job worse.

Bless his heart.

Most of that white prepainted stuff is actually just preprimed. Do you have any scraps to test on?

Are you sure it’s wood? It may be a Polyurethane or PVC product. Moldings often come pre-primed, It’s usually easier to paint before installation but can still be painted.

A visit to Home Depot is planned so I can confirm what I‘m dealing with. Pretty sure it’s painted wood not primed based on shine and saw dust. Home Depot was not on my shopping list as I’m prepping for a dinner party for 12 this week. Grrrr.

Under the circumstances, I’d be livid too and can see why you don’t want him back. Making the cuts to hang crown is the hardest part of the job. Since the cuts are already made, you may want consider (gently) taking it down to sand and put the first coat on. Then you can rehang it, putty up the nail holes and put the second coat. Some may say that one coat should suffice, but I found with ours, which was preprimed in white required the two and the end look was much better for it, I’m fairly picky though.

Instead of sanding, you can use a primer like Bullseye 1-2-3 or KILZ water based to bond to the finish of dubious nature and then be able to paint right over it with any latex. The one caution is that it will stick to anything, so if you paint it in place, tape, block, cover what you can, paint slowly, with paint only at the lower end of the brush and checking the brush for excess paint, then check for drips while they are still wet. Cleans easily with soap an d water, but once dry it can be very hard to impossible to remove. My DH insisted on painting the trim with oil based paint when we bought this house. Of course, it yellowed and this is what we had to do to get it white again.

If you find that it is a preprimed or paintable surface you do not need this step.

I sent Faron a link. I wouldn't do anything until he advices, he is an expert and so generous with his time talking to us.

Since it's not something that's going to be touched after it's painted, I think that you would probably be safe just painting over it. You could use liquid sandpaper to be sure if you want. I definitely wouldn't bother sanding it.

Don't just paint over it as depending on what it was painted with the paint you put on top could bubble and peel. Just prime first with Bin or Kilz primer and then paint. That should be fine and no need to sand.

So, it looks like I’ll be priming and painting after the holidays. Thank you for all the responses. “White is white.”

Uffda! Just saw this!!! Sorry! I don't check the activity icon very often!!!

"Liquid sandpaper". I take it out of peoples' hands at the store!!! Why?! Because they're loaded with VOC's, & the surface has to be painted in a half-hr OR LESS. So.....if you can't get a surface painted in a SHORT time, you've breathed all that crap, wasted time, & have to reapply it!!

Sanding is very easy. All it has to be is SLIGHTLY DULLED, & all dust removed. Now, microscopically, you've got a great surface for primers & paints to "Latch onto". There are "cushy" sandpapers that flex easy to follow curves. It may be worth quickly taping-up some cheap plastic, & using a canvas runner to drag along as you progress. Less dust cleanup too!

Do any hole-filling before the light sanding. When that's dry & smooth, brush a hazy coat of paint over those spots.

At last....you're ready to paint!

OPTIONS...if you're fussy:

* If ceiling is smooth, & moldings are tight to ceiling, caulk that gap with a paintable caulk. I like the Big-stretch brand.

* I'm assuming wall is already painted, so you wouldn't wanna caulk the bottom of the trim. If you ARE gonna paint wall at some point, caulk the bottom of the crown. It just makes for nicer "finished/smooth" transition into the trim piece. Be careful to only have the paint thinly applied over the caulk, meaning.....don't have a "thick edge" sitting on the caulking.

* IF you want a top-notch smooth look.....?! Apply a couple full coats of primer. Next day....LIGHTLY SAND with 220, & remove all dust. Now you've got an even smoother surface for your paint! You WILL drool! Sure, it's twice the work & time.....BUT, when you're done.....wow!

* Use the best brush you can! TWO EQUAL coats of finish-paint. If you have a paint that sets-up fast (most do nowadays!), use a Cabinet & Trim paint; or, XIM's Latex-Xtender. This won't really "thin" the paint. It just relaxes the binder-resins so they don't dry so fast!

Faron

Thank you so much, Faron! Why delay drying?

Also, is the correct order fill holes, sand all over, prime 2 coats, dry overnight, sand/clean, paint 2 coats?

Delilah I'm confident I can speak for Faron here - he recommends the extender because it allows for more working time and it's easier to get a smooth paint finish. An experienced painter may not need it but the average homeowner standing on a ladder trying to paint crown molding over their head will have a better shot at a good finish with extender. When the paint drys too quickly for the person painting, they tend to go back trying to fill in a small place they missed and the brush drags out the drying paint, leaving obvious brush marks.

Ah-ha! Thank you, DLM!