Painting Wood Trim White without losing your mind should be the real title of this post because, well I have done it the right way and the wrong way, and nearly lost my mind. If you’ve ever contemplated “should I paint my wood trim white?” then you’re in the right place. I am going to share the easy way to paint wood trim in this step-by-step tutorial.
Let’s start off with a crazy paint wood trim before and after. Then, we’ll dive into the best materials and directions for painting wood trim white. Then, I will share my best tips on painting wood trim. Finally, I will answer the most frequently asked questions on the subject of how to paint wood trim. See the best white paint trim colors here.
PAINTING WOOD TRIM WHITE
Now, let’s delve into the materials needed for painting stained wood trim and the secret tool you need to use instead of sanding!
MATERIALS FOR PAINTING WOOD TRIM
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- Wood Filler
- (optional) use only if you need to repair holes in the trim from nails
- Primer
- I recommend Zinsser Smart Prime (if you can find it, but I think it has been discontinued) or Zinsser Bullseye 1-2-3 as a substitute. Sherwin Williams waterborne alkyd primer is a good alternative as well.
- Abrasive Hand Pad
- Use this instead of sandpaper. Using sandpaper will rub off too much of the varnish and the stain on your oak wood trim will permeate your newly painted white paint.
- Paint
- I always use Benjamin Moore Semi-Gloss Natura in Simply White
- Paint Brush- use a 3″ angled trim brush
- I use this one (Purdy 3″ angle)
- Paint Trim Guard
- I use Red Devil 18″ Dual Edge Painter’s Edge Guard (You are going to want this if you have wall-to-wall carpeting or hardwood floors that you want to protect. I use it along with Painter’s Tape to ensure that I don’t have drips on my floor.
- zero VOC and does a great job of sealing wood!
- Paint Cup
- Drop Cloth
- We use old sheets but I am seriously tempted to buy a drop cloth that is a bit heavier. Skip the plastic and save yourself headaches (and the earth!)
- Painter’s Tape
- I use painter’s tape on the hardwood floors, over the plastic window inserts, and around the shower. Otherwise, I just cut in by hand. But painter’s tape is a necessity in every home and I never do a project without it.
- Paint Tray
- Having a real metal paint tray will make your life so much easier! Ditch the flimsy plastic ones which are always spilling. I don’t even use plastic liners in mine, I just rinse it out after each coat and call it a day! Plus, you save plastic from going to the landfill!
Now, let’s talk about exactly how to paint wood trim like a pro:
DIRECTIONS FOR PAINTING WOOD TRIM
1.) Prepare the room for painting: Move furniture out of the room and lay down drop cloths on all floors/ carpet. Tape off any areas that you need to protect like floors.
2.) Apply wood putty to any holes in the trim. Wipe off the excess (and if you want to sand it lightly, but I never do–I just wipe off the excess with my finger so just the hole is filled.)
3.) Wipe down all of your trim with a damp cloth. If it is very dirty wipe it down with a mixture of vinegar and water; but, I just use my microfiber cloths.
4) DO NOT SAND with sandpaper. Instead, I recommend using these hand pads which have a mild abrasive surface. I give the wood a once-over to give the primer something to grab onto. Then, give them a once-over with a clean microfiber cloth to grab all the dust. GRAB THE ABRASIVE HAND PADS HERE TO USE INSTEAD OF SANDPAPER.
5.) Tape the baseboard and use a Paint Trim Guard if you are painting trim and baseboards.
4.) Apply two coats of primer. In the past, I have always used Zinsser’s Smart Prime which is a zero-VOC primer but it is getting harder and harder to paint, so now I use Zinsser’s 1-2-3 which is comparable. Sherwin Williams also has a very good waterborne alkyd paint primer which is very good as well (however, I think it is low-VOC vs. no-VOC) so make sure to open up those windows!
5.) Finally, apply two coats of semi-gloss paint. More coats may be necessary depending on the condition of your wood. In our south-facing rooms where the varnish on the wood was the most deteriorated and the stain permeated the new white paint, I ended up painting four coats of semi-gloss paint in Benjamin Moore Simply White Natura (zero-VOC semi-gloss paint.)
QUICK TIPS FOR PAINTING WOOD TRIM WHITE
- Painting Wood Trim Without Sanding: YEP, I recommend this way for painting stained wood trim white. Why?
- Well, we’ve done it both ways and have the best results when we did not sand. This might sound crazy; but, I swear it’s true. I still recommend “roughing up” the wood trim with an abrasive hand pad but I do not recommend sanding it with a circular sander.
- Why not? When you sand the protective varnish or sealant off of stained wood trim you are opening up the stain. Previously, the stain was “sealed” in the wood because there was a barrier (the varnish). If you sand off that barrier, your stain from the wood is going to permeate the newly white painted wood trim. It happened to us in our laundry room and we have these weird orangish waves all over our doors, seeping through the white paint.
- Order of operations to paint wood trim in a room:
- First paint wood trim, paint edges “or cut in” room, then paint the walls.
- Invest in an edger (it costs less than $10) if you are painting a lot of rooms! It saves hours of time and will leave a nice sharp line and make it look like you know how to paint trim like a pro!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS & DIY SITUATIONS FOR PAINTED WOOD TRIM
- What kind of paint to use on wood trim?
- While you can use oil based paint on wood trim (like some experts recommend), I am uncomfortable using oil-based paint in our home with young children. Instead, I use a latex based paint, Benjamin Moore Natura, a zero-VOC latex paint in Simply White semi-gloss.
- What color should you paint your trim?
- Can you paint over trim?
- Yes! We have painted over all of the wood trim in our house (see all the before-and-afters here in our house tour.)
- Can you paint over stained wood without sanding?
- YES! I would strongly recommend NOT sanding. When you sand wood trim vigorously, you are opening up the layer of the paint with the stained wood. The stain will spread to your white paint layers if you open it up.
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- Do you paint the trim before the walls?
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- Yes, I always paint the trim before the walls. It is easiest for me to paint the trim first, then cut-in the walls, and finally, paint the walls.
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- Do you paint the trim before the walls?
- How do you paint wood french doors white? How do I paint paned windows?
- The easiest way I have found to paint french doors is to first, take the doors off the hinges. Then prepare the woodwork like described above with the caveat that you don’t have to tape the glass.
- If I am spraying the woodwork, I will tape off the windows and cover them with a piece of paper and painter’s tape. However, if I am painting my hand, I do not use tape. Instead, I paint as usual, and then afterwards I use Windex and a razor blade to remove the paint from the glass. Within 24 hours (before the paint hardens), spray the paint on the glass with Windex. Let it sit for a few minutes, then score the glass along the edge of the wood (where you want it to be a nice straight line.) Then, turn the blade sideways and scrape the paint off the glass. Wipe off the paint scraps and the windex and you’ve got a perfectly painted window!
- How do I repaint trim and baseboards?
- Repainting trim and baseboards is easy, especially if there is already paint on there. Use the same process as above, but you can decide if your need or don’t need primer. If there is white paint on there already, I usually just skip the primer and just apply another coat of white paint. That being said, I always make sure to sand lightly with the hand abrasive pads to even out any knicks or gouges before I paint. To protect the floor, make sure to use painter’s tape and a painter’s shield (like i did in the picture above.)
- How do I paint wood trim over wall-to-wall carpets?
- Prepare your area like you would if it was a baseboard and do steps 1-5 and use a paint shield to pry away the carpet from the baseboard trim that I am painting. The key is to pull the carpet away with one hand and paint with the other.
- After you do one coat of paint on your entire baseboard, let it dry, come back a few hours later and pull the carpet away again before painting. Separating the paint from the carpet will help while it is still somewhat wet. The key to painting wood trim over wall-to-wall carpets is having a good paint shield and a rag on hand. You want to keep your paint shield clean, so clean it frequently with the rag.
- Do I need to caulk after painting wood trim?
- It’s up to you. It’s best practice to caulk after you paint wood trim because you will notice the imperfections, like the space in between the crown moulding and the ceiling much more; however, we haven’t yet (three kids under our years old…but it’s still on our to-do list.)
- Should I use a paint-sprayer to paint wood trim?
- We have done both. I would say for a small project, do it by hand. But, for a large project, I would recommend using a paint-sprayer. Here’s why: it doesn’t really save that much time with a paint sprayer if you aren’t painting a large area.
- There is a lot of set-up and prep work involved in using a paint sprayer–even more than painting because you need to watch out for overspray. That being said, you are going to save a lot of time and coats of paint using a paint sprayer. We were able to paint 8 wood paneled doors in one day with a paint sprayer–something that took us 3 days to do by hand.
- The coats you get from a paint-sprayer are much thicker than those you get from painting wood by hand, so you need fewer coats (most of our doors required one primer and one coat of semi-gloss.)
- Should I use oil based paint or latex based paint to paint wood trim?
- For painting wood trim, we have found latex paint to be absolutely fine. Experts recommend using oil based paint, which will give you a harder finish; but, it’s more difficult (and hazardous) to use. Because we have young children in our house and are painting wood trim white ourselves, the risks of oil-based paint outweigh the pros. We have been happy with high quality latex paints in our house.
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BEFORE AND AFTER PAINTED WOOD TRIM GALLERY:
Monica, too funny! I have to say, my in-laws just bought a house in which they had to do the same thing but they have said that it was so much easier to paint over dingy white than start from scratch. So you made the right choice even if you did have to repaint it all! It took a layer of primer, and two coats of paint in this room and a layer of primer and three coats of paint on the trim in B's room! Don't you sometimes wonder what in the world the previous owners were thinking with the mega-colorful rooms?
xo
Annie
Hi! I realize this is an old post, but we recently bought a house with the exact same wood trim as your before photos. I am dying to paint it white and yours looks great. Is there a specific primer and paint you used?
What primer and paint did you use for the fireplace?
I want to paint mine white and it is the same brown color.
I love these before and afters–it is giving me the courage to proceed with tackling my honey oak house! I am contemplating staining my six-panel oak doors and windows a coffee brown and painting the door/window frames and floor trim white. Have you ever done a project that way and liked the look? What would you recommend then for a patio door–stain the door or paint it?
Thank you! You know, our sliding doors in our kitchen are still brown, and the frames white and it drives me crazy. It is just a personal preference. I love all white trim everywhere but the great thing is it’s easy to experiment with paint and find something you like!
I’ve seen several posts like this and they’re so beautiful. But everything I’ve learned (& read when I do a general google search) is that stained wood must be washed with something to cut thru the stain (that’s toxic, btw) and sanded down before priming and painting. I’d love to do it without those steps, but am worried it’ll flake or peal. This really works? Really??
Heidi,
In our experience, if we sand, the stain continues to seep out of the woodwork resulting in splotches of brown appearing through the many layers of primer and paint. We did find that using a scotch brite pad once-over the doors seemed to give a nice result. And yes, I would definitely recommend cleaning the wood work beforehand. I always wipe mine down with a vinegar solution, or a Norwex microfiber cloth beforehand. And if you do end up sanding, definitely wipe it down after to remove any dust. Good luck! This is what has worked for us in our house, and after sanding and having bad results, it’s what I would recommend. Good luck!
xo
Annie
I want to do what you did and paint but my husband said if we do, we have to take the trim off, sand it then paint it and put it all back on.
Hey ANNIE! I just want to ask if the paint chips away if you are using a primer but not actually sanding the wood trim don’t you think with the layer of finish spray which is usually glossy will make the paint chip off easier?
Hi Kathryn! Overall I have been really happy with how the trim covers. It will chip away a bit with the normal wear and tear but I think it holds up really well. One reason we didn’t sand was that I have found that when we do, the original stain seeps in. On our windows on the south side (where most of the varnish had worn off), we have had much more trouble with the stain seeping through. And when we sanded, it just made it more difficult to cover up. So now we don’t sand (and hey–it helps shave off a little time too!) I recommend semi-gloss on all trim. We use cabinet paint in semi-gloss for our cabinets though. Hope that helps clear things up!
xo
Annie
Your home looks beautiful! We have oak everywhere too, including our windows. Did you take your windows off to paint them, or did you leave them up?
We took them off! They were much easier that way to paint! Good luck! It is a big endeavour but so worth it!
A children’s paint brush I kid you not! My husband (who is waaaaayyy more patient than me used a small paint brush that I have for my craft’s and my kids.) Good luck! It will look amazing and the hardwork is worth it!
Hi Annie- your finished living room looks great! We re about to do the same project here, but my question is we have 2 opposing walls in our living room that are stained barnwood, I want them “whitewashed “ painted with the same color we just selected for the walls. Any suggestions, I want to make sure my painter understands what I want.
Thanks!
Barbara
Hi Barbara!
That sounds exciting! Do you want them somewhat see-through then? Like more of a rustic look? I wouldn’t do quite as many coats of primer then.
Annie
Hi Annie,
Your pictures look great! One question for you, is there a reason a person would not use cabinet paint for the trim as well?
Thanks,
Hi Melissa!
You are more than welcome to use a cabinet paint for the trim as well! I have in a couple of our hardest wearing rooms. The only reason I don’t, is that generally it is more expensive. But it will work great for trim too so do whichever you choose!
Annie
Wonderful transformation and I love it! Thanks for sharing this amazing post.
Annie, could you tell me what type of abrasive hand pad you’re referring to?
Hey Pam! Here are the 3M Scuff Pads I recommend! These have been gamechangers! https://amzn.to/2sSjOe9
Can you be more specific about what the abrasive hand pad is? Brand, size, photo?
Hi Deb! Thanks for letting me know. It looks like the link was unlinked. Here are the exact ones I use: https://amzn.to/2MOnp5b
Annie
So, I have this same dentil molding all over. Were you able to rough up the surface at all inside there or did you just go ahead and paint without worrying about those tiny spots? I want to do whatever you did because it looks beautiful. Thanks!
Hi Melanie! Thanks so much for commenting! I didn’t rough up the surface inside the nooks, I just took the hand pad over the top lightly and wiped it down with a microfiber cloth. We used a small paint brush (like a craft paint brush) for painting the interior of them. I am sure yours will look amazing too!
Annie
Hello! I am not sure how old this post is, and I am curious if you would still use these methods or if you have updated/changed your techniques. Also would this work with trim that is considerably darker?
Hi Dayle! I have not changed my techniques over the years, and continue to use the same ones. I actually just painted all the wood trim in our upstairs hallway including our stairs doing this same thing. I think it would work for trim that is considerably darker, as I have had followers paint over their darker and redder trim with great results!
Annie
Thanks so much for commenting and good luck with your painting!
Hiya.
We have just moved into a small quirky house which includes the landing varnished oak I think it is with brown wooden doors. Firstly what and how can I bring these into the modern day decor ?
I’m not overly familiar with terminology so please explain step by step if you have a spare few minutes please.
Many thanks and kind regards
Hey there! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could locate a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having trouble finding one? Thanks a lot!
I am wondering if this method will work on wood trim that has varnish on it. Our apartment is covered in shiny orange tinted trim that I would love to paint white. Will the 3M scrubbing pads be enough prep?
Hi Annie! I have been searching for what seems like FOREVER for the perfect white combo. Here is my scenario: I am creating a white wainscott on the bottom, white (what I now think will be) Dove white upper walls. I have a very open concept and want to paint my old 1950s kitchen cabinets also(and make them into a shaker style). Should my cabinets be the Simply White to match the lower wall wainscotting, Or the Dove White to match the upper half of the walls?
I just wanted to thank you for this tutorial – from your photos it looks like we had the same varnished Mom’s 1989 guestroom brown woodwork. First thing I said when we looked at this house was ‘we gotta paint this trim’. I did not want to use oil, and I have had the orange craze thing happen before. Your advice was top notch!! Worked like a charm and looks boss. I thank you.
Yes! We have so much old wood trim. This is also a great beginner DIY project and as I’m learning myself I took some time to write up my guide on how to do this. This year we painted the trim in my daughter’s nursery.
I should have found this post a bit sooner because I did use some fine grit sandpaper (about 200) but I think it turned out excellent regardless. The other thing I should have done was use TSP-substitute to clean the wood prior to painting.
You can see my daughter’s nursery looks pretty good now! https://looksgoodtous.com/painting-old-wood-oak-trim/