Using the proper paint on interior doors, door casings, crown molding and baseboards

Jan 12, 2019 -- Posted by : ajpereira

When a true professional painting contractor is painting the interior of a home or condo for a homeowner one of the most important things they can do is to purchase and apply the proper paint for the appropriate surface.  I know you thinking well yes, that is what they are getting paid for, after all they are the professional.

Your right, but have you ever hired someone to paint the trim in your home and a short time later the paint starts peeling off the doors or door casings very easily?

When it comes to panting any interior trim on a home a true professional will test the current paint on the trim to see what was used last.  The best way to do this is to put some Denatured Alcohol on a rag and wipe several areas on different doors and door casings to see if any of the paint that is currently on these surfaces comes off on the rag. If no paint comes off then the last time your interior trim was painted they used either an oil-based paint or a waterborne-alkyd. 

However if you see some paint color on your rag then it means the last time it was painted they used a latex, or acrylic paint.

A true professional painting contractor does this test is to ensure that they use the proper interior paint when they repaint your interior trim.  The reason this is so important is when you do this test and no paint comes off on your rag, then yes it is either an oil-based paint or a waterborne-alkyd like I stated above, but you have to go paint back over using the same type of paint.  You can't paint a latex or acrylic paint over either of these products, if your do so, over time your paint will peel off.  

Many painting contractors don't even bother to take the time to test the old paint, they just paint latex paint over oil-based paint, and once this is done the only way to fix the problem is to have all of your trim replaced.

If it was lasted painted with an oi-based paint or a waterborne-alkyd you need to make sure and sand the surfaces, wipe them down with a tack rag to ensure all dust has been removed before applying the paint.  We always take another step to ensure our paint sticks we wipe down the surface with a product called Gloss Off, which is make by Krud Kutter. This can be purchased at Home Depot.

 

If you do find that the last time it was painted with an oil-based or waterborne alkyd paint and you do want to use a latex paint, what I recommend is to sand the surfaces really well, wipe off the dust with a tack rag then apply Cover Stain oil based bonding primer to the surface.  Once dry, sand again, wipe off the dust again then you can paint it with a latex enamel.  By painting over the existing oil-based paint with a bonding primer, the bonding primer will take care of any adhesion problems you may have.  Then you can use a latex paint over the bonding primer with no problems of paint peeling off in the future.

 

Anytime you do any type of painting, knowledge and prep are the most important factors in having a successful paint job.

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