Interior Wood Trim Painting

Mike asked 7 months ago

Around 2007/2008 we had our interior painted and the painters used an oil-based paint for all the wood trim, which held up extremely well.  We had the interior re-painted in 2016 and the designer told the painters to use an Acrylic Latex Paint instead of an oil-based paint on all the wood trim.

Whether this was correct paint to use or the painters did not prepare the surface properly, the acrylic latex paint has not held up over time. It has flaked off from wear and when it has been bumped when moving objects so now the original color (oil-based color) shows through.

Also, when we had the house pressure washed before being painted, we were instructed to use the blue painting tape to seal around the windows and doors so water would not come in. When we went to remove the blue painter’s tape, some the acrylic latex paint pulled off with the tape. It’s like the paint never bonded.
So now, we want to repaint the trim. After speaking with Sherwin Williams, they recommend the Urethane Trim Enamel Paint but I not sure how to proceed.

My questions are…

  • Is this correct paint to use?
  • Do we need to do any prep work on the acrylic latex paint beforehand? It would be a daunting to impossible task to have to strip off the acrylic latex paint, should that be required. The job would be too big for a 1 or 2 people.

This is a DIY project. Any suggestions would help before we proceed. Thanks.

1 Answers
MagicDave answered.

Using Latex over oil is OK IF they used a good quality brand paint! But maybe they did not? Pressure washing is really not the best way to go… hand washing will do just as good a job with less chance of damage and using ANY kind of tape to “seal”  is just a big mistake! Just use Sherwin Williams Exterior Semi Gloss Acrylic Paint on your exterior trim and really all you need for prepping is to wash and scrape off any loose paint and spot prime any bare wood with an oil base exterior stain sealer…
Good Luck…