Alternative methods for prepping trim for painting?

[MrsStark]

Hello Everyone!!

Nearly 8 months later and I have finally finished my homes 1 of 7 whole room remodels!! To give you an idea, the remaining rooms are all pretty much a slightly different version of this - All 1970’s ranch style wood trim with pretty bad choices for wall colors.


“The Before”









“My Masterpiece”









For this room I
1. removed all the baseboards and trim
2. sanded
3. wood-filled any gouges and imperfections
4. resanded
5. prime painted each piece 3 times
6. high-gloss painted each piece 3 times
7. rehung
8. wood-filled the nail holes
9. caulked along the trim and walls
10. and then high-gloss spot painted the nail holes

… Needless to say I am dreading doing all this 6 more times [emoji24] I’ve read that to really get the paint to adhere and endure wear-and-tear, you have to get the varnish or stain or whatever the glossy coat is on the trim, removed before any priming or painting.

With that being said, someone please tell me there is an easier method for getting the trim prepped for painting that doesn’t involve removing it from the walls and sanding that gives just as good of results?

 

[Snoonyb]

You'll almost always need to do some sanding, but I've had pretty good results using an oil based primer.

 

[MrsStark]

You'll almost always need to do some sanding, but I've had pretty good results using an oil based primer.

With the oil-based, does the existing coating have to be sanded down to the bone - So to speak? I’ve been power sanding the pieces until I was sure I was working with the pure wood… Which was probably a lot of unnecessary work haha

 

[Snoonyb]

Not necessarily, some of the lacquer finishes will require them being scuffed prior to the application, but most of the sanding is to insure a uniformity of the surface.