Interior window Trim: How to pre-paint 16 ft lengths

tgm1024

I have 30 pieces of window trim that is as follows:

1. 2.5" colonial
2. Pre-primed white looking close to the satin white paint I want to use (if not identical!)
3. 16' long

How would you paint these? Keep in mind that it's hovering between 60° and 70° outside right now.

Would you:

• Roll (if so, would you use semi-smooth rollers or smooth?)
• Spray
• Brush (probably foam brush)

Is outdoors ok? Or do I risk air debris that I can't see until the paint dries and it's too late?

mark942

Personally I wouldnt paint until I have it all installed. Your going to have nail holes to fill, miters that might be in need of fixing. Maybe some damage that will need to be fixed also. You will have to spackle and prime these to make things smooth. Why not do it all in one shot? Some others may have ideas of their own............................Good Luck.........................

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housepaintingny

I would spray, but if you don't have a sprayer, then I would use a 4inch mini roller and back brush one coat on before putting them up, after they are put up I would caulk and putty, then apply your final coat.

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tgm1024

I've used rollers, but what do you mean by "back brush"? <----not a verb I know.

tgm1024

Ah....but I can deal with touch-ups or even fully repainting the face of the trim. What drives me over the edge is the painting of the side of the trim where it meets the wall. I'll have to on the ends of the apron and sill-nosing because of cuts, but the rest of it should be far easier. No?

Matthewt1970

Back brush means you brush out the rollermarks so you don't have orange peel on trim and it helps it work it into the surface better. Basicly use the roller to put the paint on the wood and a brush to smooth it out.

Windows

This is exactly what I would do too.

tgm1024

Ok, thanks! Are you a fan of the foam brushes? I just cannot for the life of me paint or prime without brush-strokes and it's a real PITA. "Jim, I'm a software engineer, not a painter."

Windows

Brush marks are as much about brush and paint quality as they are about technique. You will have better luck with a better quality brush. I would stay away from foam applicators - they drag on trim and don't spread the paint evenly, plus you miss out entirely on the actual 'brushing' action which is good for the adhesion of the paint and the overall appearance of the finished product.
Moreover, a certain amount of brush strokes can be considered a good thing - it gives a handcrafted element to the trim.

tgm1024

I've used expensive brushes and cheapo bushes. Bristle (for oil) and nylon/poly's for both. I cannot see a difference. Should I be trimming the brush with scissors when I buy it? This needs it's own thread.

Windows

It's strange you don't notice a difference. I can tell a good brush from bad blindfolded, just by how the brush flows, but there are really 6 qualitative elements that define a good brush - Flagging, Stiffness, Flex, Snapback, Trim, and Durability. Giving a new expensive brush a haircut with scissors is a very bad idea because the arrangement of the bristles in quality brushes (their Trim) is designed to maximize their exploded tips (Flagging) which determines how well the brush picks up and holds paint. Poorer quality brushes have a square trim where fewer exploded tips have been preserved, so altering a quality brush with scissors basically gives you a lesser quality brush. By the same token, trimming a lesser quality brush with scissor has a smaller affect on the flagging and the trim, but may still have significant and unpredictable consequences on its Flex and Snapback elements, and its ability to make a straight line.

This may be more information than you want or need, but it is helpful to keep in mind all the design and engineering that goes into brush manufacturing when you make your purchase decisions - and we haven't even scratched the surface of types and shapes of synthetic fibers!

tgm1024

No, that was perfect. Thanks! Also, the shapes of synthetic fibers actually is a big interest of mine. Particularly the drying shirts that have the surface areas increase toward the outer surface so that sweat is driven to wick outward. I can only imagine what the paint techies are trying in their labs.

mark942

A good paint brush just needs to be cleaned very good after each use. Spirits are cheap and water is even cheaper.


Just a FYI on roller skins/naps
The thing I do to make it better so to speak is to take my new roller skins/naps put it on my roller frame, take a piece of duct tape and roll it all over the new skin/nap. This takes out most of the fibers that can make a good paint job look bad.

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tgm1024

I would have thought that that would only pull the fibers outward and make everything hairy.

mark942

"I would have thought that that would only pull the fibers outward and make everything hairy"

Give it a try some time.

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