i am starting to repaint all of the trim in my house. it was initially an offwhite/cream color and has yellowed over the years (built in 1964, was repainted since then but not sure how long ago, i've been there 2 years). i am trying to cover it up with normal, standard white.

i have already starting painting in the foyer. i am almost finished with the THIRD coat and there are still spots that could use more paint. this is ridiculous and i am not going to do 3+ coats over the entire house. i don't have the money or time for that. what is the best paint for trim work that will cover in as few coats as possible? one coat would be perfect but i'd take 2 if i have to. i've read that kilz is the best but as far as i can find on the intarweb, it doesn't come in glossy.

before i painted, i wiped the old paint with deglosser and sanded certain areas (around windows, edges of baseboards, etc). if i could find kilz in semi-gloss, would that work (will the trim look stupid if it's anything but high gloss)?

experience/opinions?

halp

6/19/2008 2:06:20 PM

Does Kilz make actual paint? I know they make good primer.

6/19/2008 2:14:40 PM

Honestly the Kitchen, Bath & Trim paint walmart has goes on very well and you can knock it out in one or two coats.

6/19/2008 2:15:14 PM

^^yes, it's called Casual Colors (only sold at walmart). see http://www.kilz.com/kcc/default.aspx

haha just noticed that they DO make that casual colors paint in high-gloss (i only saw the satin and semi-gloss on the front page). still taking suggestions though...

[Edited on June 19, 2008 at 2:26 PM. Reason : ]

6/19/2008 2:24:28 PM

Get the cheap paint at WalMArt it seriously goes on good.

6/19/2008 2:31:33 PM

semi-gloss is pretty common for trim in my experience... personally I would use Behr paint

6/19/2008 3:25:18 PM

I was just going to say, I bought a can of Behr paint at home depot to paint my crown molding and areas around my fire place and it went on very well and looks great.

6/19/2008 3:28:33 PM

it shouldnt take more than one coat going white over white.

Use a primer to seal it like Killz, then a semi gloss decent quality regular paint.

6/19/2008 3:35:03 PM

kilz primer and then behr semi flat or semi gloss

6/19/2008 3:35:05 PM

i read in a consumer reports thing that behr paint doesn't hold its color well...

i think i will switch to semigloss. just switching finishes will probably help w/ the coverage issue also.

6/19/2008 3:47:55 PM

yeah, i don't think high-gloss would look very nice.

6/19/2008 3:53:10 PM

I agree that semi-gloss is fine for trim.

OOC...What kind of paint are you using now that you're having so much trouble with?

6/19/2008 4:07:44 PM

^^the existing paint is high gloss, and it's what the dude in lowes said to get. i shouldn't have listened

right now i'm using valspar

[Edited on June 19, 2008 at 4:18 PM. Reason : ]

6/19/2008 4:18:24 PM

most people use high gloss on trim b/c it's easier to clean

6/19/2008 4:33:25 PM

we used semi-gloss valspar. just make sure you prime it first, as apparently gloss doesn't go well directly onto gloss. don't get frustrated when it takes 2 coats, though (it looks kinda streaky with one coat).

6/19/2008 4:39:48 PM

i used deglosser & sanded so that it wouldn't be glossy. i wasn't so frustrated at 2 coats. i'm frustrated at 3 coats. regardless of what i'm using, i'm not going to do 3 coats of anything (primer + paint), so i'm trying to find a way around that via kilz or something. it's white on white, it shouldn't take so many coats.

6/19/2008 4:41:59 PM

haha, white on white is more evil than you'd think. my white on white trim took a layer of flat enamal paint (we just painted it as we painted the walls) and then a layer of semi gloss white of the same shade of white, and it was still streaky.

6/19/2008 5:18:57 PM

im painting mine with rustoleum satin (primed first)

i also painted the walls (different color, and i obviously used latex on the walls), and where i did that i pulled the trim off and spray painted it. used a brush on door jambs and such. mine was stained dark brown originally, tho..

this stuff



[Edited on June 19, 2008 at 6:20 PM. Reason : pics]

6/19/2008 6:17:37 PM

If you use a white primer, in my experience (which admittedly is somewhat limited) you should be able to get away with one coat of the white topcoat. As long as you use good stuff.

6/19/2008 6:33:09 PM

just ask your local P Nis.

6/19/2008 6:52:37 PM