Best Primer For Trim And Baseboards Today

Best primer for trim, baseboards, doors, is essential for all woodwork. Trim primers not only will seal and fill wood grain, but will require sanding before finish coat is applied. Even though good primers require more work, you'll enjoy many years of smoothness afterwards.

Most premium paint manufactures provide their version of interior trim primer. Best primers are generally on the lower tier of price range, compared to the best paint brand you'll be buying. Interior trim primer is a cheaper flat paint version, with higher bonding characteristics.

Priming trim, door casings, and baseboards allows not only a good visual, but is the time to correct any imperfections. Puttying nail holes, caulking corners, and sanding. So providing a good primer on trim is a must, for any top brand of paint. That is to say, don't get caught up getting an all inclusive paint & primer all in one can of paint.

What Makes Up Best Primer For Trim & Baseboards?

Wondering what qualities to look for with best primer for trim, and interior woodwork? Knowing which best paint brand for trim and baseboards you'll want to use. We will lay our top suggestions out for you, later in this article.

Best primers will have extreme bonding characteristics. Higher adhesion properties is exactly what you want for several reasons.

1. Primer bonds to bare wood better than final trim paint.
2. A quality primer provides a better visual seeing any cracks, holes needing fillers.
3. Flat primers are much easier to sand, providing a very smooth final paint finish.
4. Interior flat wood primers seals wood from any contaminants underneath.
5. Primers are tint-able, making final paint color much easier to cover, while using less paint.
6. True primers are designed for new untreated wood trim, baseboards, and moldings, other than today's primer and paint all-in-one can.

A primer will properly bond to wood trim, without any concern of it ever coming off. Once it's applied, trim primer allows a much better surface for final finish coat to bond to, than bare wood.

Trim primers provide a good visual, to see any imperfections before final paint coat, so you do not need to remove baseboards to paint them.

Now, if you are replacing baseboards, it's a great idea to prime them first. Putting a smooth finish coat horizontally before you initially install. This way, you'll be only touching up nail holes, and caulking trim to the walls.

Primer used on trim allows final paint coating to be applied much more evenly. Many new home builders require this, so you know it's important.

Having painted many new homes in our area over the years, working for several different builders, priming trim and baseboards is a common practice, and still is today. Not having to get fancy by no means, there are some good suggestions we've used, doing this exact painting process.

• Lightly sand trim, removing sharp edges, burrs, anything from the lumber mill.
• Using a interior flat primer paint, spray out all trim surfaces.
• Important to fill in any nail holes with painter's putty. Sanding those after dried.
• Caulk corners, where two pieces of trim come together.
• Dusting off trim once again, before final semi-gloss paint coats are applied for smoothest finish.

Walking into a newly built home, still under construction, we lightly sand all bare wood. Dusting off all particulates for the primer to be applied. Any wood that's to be painted trim color, we sand first. Removing any burrs, sharp edges, and wood hairs.

Let's say you are painting your entire interior. Starting with the ceilings, working down is the most efficient way of painting. After spraying out ceilings, using flat ceiling paint, spray your baseboards, door casings, and trim.

This saves a step, not requiring a special all inclusive interior trim primer! But you'll still need to lightly sand baseboards before and after flat ceiling paint. Best way to sand is using common classic sanding pads from 3-M.

Now, after carefully sanding primed trim, you'll want to get all dust particulates away from these areas before much heavier bodied, final paint coat. Using a good tack cloth ensures all foreign particulates are removed, so to not trap particulates underneath. This way it will not feel rough after final spray coat.

Follow all steps, even if you are using a brush. This will limit any visible brush strokes on your trim and cabinets.

So you can see, any good high-bonding flat paint will make a good primer for your interior trim and baseboards. But again, there's more work, after priming and before painting trim, for a good high-quality, smooth finish.

Keep in mind, primers best for trim are not intended to cover like final paint coats. You'll still see grain showing through, even applying two complete primer coats. Primers are only expected to properly seal fresh new wood.

This helps if any sap coming out of freshly milled wood. Also primers giving your final premium glossy paints something better to bond, having a much smoother finish.

Best Paint Brands And Primers For Trim Baseboards Today

 

Best paint brands after priming your trim and baseboards is critical today. Yes, just as important is it is priming new trim, just as is equally important getting that best paint brand for that grand finally, finish coat.

Plan on taking some time, not rushing through this priming process. Know sanding before and after prime, dusting all wood surfaces will require diligence, but your trim and moldings will show-off your efforts, being richly rewarded.

Here is a short list of great primers for interior trim, doors, also baseboards. All these primers provide a great baseline, before finish coats.

• Sherwin-Williams™ complete line of primers designed to address ... for priming new residential bare drywall and wood trim.
• BEHR™ low odor formula. Finish: The self-leveling acrylic blend helps create a uniform topcoat sheen.
• Benjamin Moore™ Sure Seal ™ Latex Primer offers strong adhesion for all surfaces and excellent stain blocking and resistance in a low VOC formula.
• PPG™ Interior Primer/Finish is an excellent, fast drying, multi-capable interior, primer/finish. It may be used as a base coat on bare wood, drywall and plaster.
• Glidden™ Ideal for priming walls, doors, trim, cabinets and ceilings in any room.
• KILZ® Use on interior and exterior surfaces including woodwork, drywall, plaster, paneling.
• Zinsser® Primer preps for paint, blocks stain and odors on surfaces.
• Pittsburgh Paints Multi-Purpose Primer + Sealer has excellent adhesion and hide and easily sands for a smooth, paintable surface.

Some Ideal Trim Paint Brands

Some brands of paint have primer built in. Be careful using paint & primer in one container, as this is not meant for brand new trim, baseboards, and moldings.

Premium paints have a higher thickness, and must be applied, keeping a wet edge. Drying very quickly, you'll not need multiple brush strokes for a uniform finish, but trickier to work with. Professional painters have the knack using these all the time.

• Sherwin-Williams™ SnapDry™ Semi-Gloss Door and Trim Paint dries in as little as one hour of application and a door can be closed without sticking.
• BEHR™ Browse BEHR products for interior surfaces in your home including paints, primers, and specialty sealers.
• Benjamin Moore™ A premium quality, waterborne alkyd paint that offers a full line of durable high-end finishes ideal for doors, trim and cabinetry.
• PPG™ 900 Interior/Exterior ... ADVANTAGE 900 Interior/Exterior Trim and Door Paint is a top quality, waterborne, very fast dry.
• Glidden® Diamond^™Interior Paint + Primer. Glidden^® Diamond ... Highly Durable Finish; Resists Scratches and Scuffs; Great Color Retention.
• Valspar™ Consider using Valspar Signature® Interior Paint for your next home

Now, some premium interior paints have primers built in. Be very wary though, if painting brand new untreated wood.

As mentioned above, you need to prime brand new baseboards, door casings first with a flat, sand-able paint first. Reason is, not only it seals, but much easier to sand. Sanding before finish coats applied for a superior smooth finish on your brand new woodwork.

These new interior paint formulations having primers built in, do serve a important feature. Premium paints allows you to hang more paint vertically than lesser valued types. But you'll be all day sanding smooth, after your first coat. Also, you'll be more likely having much thicker brush strokes using these types of paints from the get-go.

Primers and paint in one paint can will ensure highest quality materials for proper coverage. Especially using to cover darker colors over lighter ones or visa-versa, say on walls. Applying paint on bare interior trim, using the thickest paint & primer is not always the best idea. Even if you think it's saving a step.