Painting crown molding - white
 

I was speaking to a friend of mine regarding the paint he is using on the trim work in his house. The contractor that installed the trim work, baseboards and crown, exclusively uses oil based. He reasoned it gives an extremely polished finish and won't peel or crack. Pro Painters chime in. If so what is the best way to prepare the stock material for painting? e.g. Prime, sand, paint and paint. Paint and Paint. Paint. Prime and paint. Thanks in advance.:thumbsup:

Not sure what your question is, but oil-based enamel is great for trim
Truthfully the waterborne enamels have come along way the last few years and there's no reason not to use them
It's not like they are prone to cracking or pealing
The quality of your prep and product would have more of a bearing on that then the oil/water thing


The order would go:
Sand prime sand paint sand paint

Thanks Slick,

I guess I'm not certain what my question was. Maybe, I expected to hear Oil-based are the way to go vice the waterborne-enamels. Either way I thank you for your input.

Ah, I see
I prefer oils myself
But rarely get to use them as per customer requests

Today's w/b enamels are pretty good, there's not too much difference

20 years ago, I would not have said that


Here's a splitting hairs example
On my house I used w/b for the trim
However, when I did my kitchen table and kitchen dresser I used oil for the slight edge in durability

OK Slick,

So I gather the oil based are more durable? Am I correct in this assumption? The finish, if done correctly will be more glossy than the w/b enamel. Is this correct as well?

Leveled,

Let me try to answer this:

First, oil based paints are more durable than acrylics (although the differences are getting smaller each year).

Second, the gloss levels of an oil based paint are often higher than their waterbased counterpart, but that is primarily due to the self leveling characteristics of the two coatings. Oil based paints take longer to dry and have a greater ability flow out to a smooth finish. Water based coatings dry more quickly and are more susceptible to the "ropey" look that the brush imparts while applying the paint. If you were to spray both coatings in their high gloss versions, the resulting gloss levels would be comparable. Think of it this way, the glare off of a smooth sea is greater than a choppy ocean, right? That is because the light is reflected off of the mirrored surface of a calm sea to a greater extent than it can be with an irregular sea.

Two other things to consider: 1)as federal standards on VOC's (the nasty solvent part of paint) strenghen, more and more research and development money goes into water based paints (that's why the gap between coatings is closing) and 2) With your south Florida location, you are better off with the mildew fighting qualities of a 100% acrylic coating to that of an oil

MainePainter,
You hit it on the head. Thanks. Slick I still appreciate your input.

Very well put MP
Slight durabilty advantage to the oil
Slight advantage to w/b in high humidity

As for the gloss, the "counterparts" should be about the same
However, you can get super glossy oils that are shinier than any w/b can get, but the VOCs are so high they are not allowed in all states

Thanks Slick.