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I currently have Oil based Paint on all the trim work in my house. I need to repaint and really don't want to use oil based (smell, clean up etc), but I also don't want the paint to come off. I am thinking that I can use an oil based primer and them paint it with a latex paint...
I think you're actually supposed to be better off using latex primer instead of oil based. It's also a good idea to lightly sand the surface before applying the primer. But there's something else to think about--latex paint is not quite as durable as oil (although it's improved a lot over the years) so if your trim takes a beating in some areas you may want to stick with oil. Or just realize that the latex is going to chip off a little easier than your old oil paint did in high traffic areas.
I agree with ecrane, I would clean with Greased Lightning or Mean Green and rinse, then when dry, scuff with a Scotch brand sanding or scouring pad first.
If there are any places that are bare wood, apply a sanding sealer and allow it to dry..
Apply a latex primer, then the top coat of a premium latex gloss for the trim.
Okay, so are oil based paints hard to work with? Do they smell significantly worse than latex and more importantly, does the smell stick around more than latex? This is our upstairs where all the bedrooms are and I have 3 kids, including an 18 month old, so I really try not to expose them to too many chemical smells. Probably more paranoia than anything else, so if you guys tell me it isn't a big deal then I will relax. We have been using latex paint recently, so I understand there is some smell and some exposure.
Latex is probably going to be better for you, oil paint definitely has more odor to it and is harder to work with (cleanup is with mineral spirits instead of water, and it takes longer to dry). The only sacrifice you're making is a bit of durability, latex has improved a lot in recent years but it still doesn't stand up to wear & tear quite the way oil paint does. But it's not like it'll be chipping off next week or anything (assuming you do the surface prep properly), it'll just require a little more frequent touchups in heavy wear areas. For me with just a dog and no kids my trim doesn't get much wear and tear so for me it's a no-brainer to go with latex rather than oil based, but if you've got constant toy cars banging into baseboards, etc then you may find that things get banged up a little easier than your current oil paint does. If you really want to cut down on chemical odors, there are a lot of low-VOC paints on the market, they typically cost a little more but they have a lot less odor than even standard latex paints would.
Oil is great to work with, if you don't mind the clean up. You will generally get a much nicer finish (less or almost no brushstrokes if using a high quality brush) with oil. Yeah, it smells, and frankly it's not a remotely pleasant smell. I'm sure I've taken years off my life with all the oil fumes I breathe. I'm a professional decorative painter, and I simply cannot do wall finishes in latex and have it look good. As for the smell, it seems to dissipate in about a day..not bad. But oil trim paint, like Ben Moore's Alkyd Satin Impervo, really has a strong smell. But, it looks great.
If you wish to paint latex over oil, you must do as the others already said and clean/degrease, sand/scuff, clean off the sanding dust from that, and then I would strongly recommend a bonding primer before even putting the latex over that. Do not- repeat, DO NOT listen to anyone at Home Depot, Lowe's etc that tells you modern latex is formulated to go over oil just fine with little or no prepping. I repainted an entire house for a client whose painter bought into that . The guy put latex over the old oil painted trim and every last bit flaked off easily with a fingernail. The painter in question used good Ben Moore paint, too, so it wasn't an issue of quality.
When I repainted my oil trim, I wanted to sacrifice the nice quality of oil and use latex because of my dogs. I put a bonding primer down without sanding (it was the Bin123 primer, which says on the can "no sanding required". Trust me- if you want it to stick well, SAND. I took the lazy way out and opted not to sand some areas and it has not bonded well in the areas that I did not sand. The irony is that some of those bonding primers smell pretty darn toxic, too!
I'll second the necessity of sanding--at my old house I painted latex over oil and didn't sand because the primer said I didn't need to and while the finish wasn't horrible, it did chip a lot more easily than I would have liked.
The best bonding primer I have ever used is Bulls Eye 1-2-3 from Zinsser the same manufacturer as B.I.N. It's latex and dries fast. Any raw wood should have an Oil primer then a high quality Latex top coat or two.
As far as hazardous to breathing, check the VOC numbers. Volatile Organic Compounds. Don't use any finish paint with more than 300 grams per liter.
Andy P
Well, I have gone with a latex primer and a latex paint. It is going on fine and hopefully will hold up over time. If not, I will repaint it later. When we did our downstairs, we went just latex over oil with no primer and it seems to be doing okay. There are some really high traffic areas where the paint has chipped some, but I have some areas upstairs where the oil based paint has chipped some too, so I guess if you bang into anything often enough it will chip the paint.
Anyway, if I am way off base then I will end up repainting sooner rather than later (and will be irritated with myself for not doing it "right" the first time), but hopefully it will last 5 or more years. I can always touch up some areas if necessary.
I really appreciate all the advice and will try to update later on with how it all worked out, so that if anyone else has this question it might help them.
