Using Trim Paint on Windows, Doors, and Baseboards

Painting your interior trim adds a little hint of extra color, shine, or finish to your home. Since trim is normally at least somewhat decorative, stands out from the wall surface, and stretches around the room, it adds more impact than you might expect. Additionally, trim serves to protect the lower portion of the wall from scrapes and scratches, as well as conceal the junction of the wall and floor, window, or door.

Painting trim, whether around windows, doors, or baseboards, can definitely be a DIY project. Here are helpful guidelines for choosing trim paint colors, finishes, and brands, as well as painting trim.

What Is Trim Paint?

Trim paint is a category of interior paint that is formulated specifically for use on trim. It has a satin, semi-gloss, gloss, or high gloss sheen. Trim paint usually comes pretinted in bright white and in base colors that can be custom-tinted. It dries to a very hard finish that has some resistance to moisture, and it usually has ingredients that resist yellowing or sagging.

Trim Paint Qualities

While technically you can use regular wall paint to paint your trim, you'll usually have better results by choosing paint specifically formulated for trim. These paints have certain qualities that make them better suited to stand up to the wear and tear often suffered by trim surfaces, such as baseboards and windowsills.

Self-Leveling

Nobody likes seeing brush marks on their trim. By its very nature, oil-based paint helps to level out brush strokes, as its longer drying times help the paint settle.

Acrylic-latex paints do show brush marks. So, additives to acrylic-latex paint formulated for use on trim help to smooth it out, leaving a smooth, perfect finish.

Glossy Finish

Trim paint is most often semi-gloss, meaning it has some shine, but not the intense shine of a gloss or high-gloss. There are a few reasons for using a glossy paint on trim, rather than eggshell or matte:

• The glossier the finish, the easier it is to wipe clean. Baseboards and window trim tend to get scuffed and grungy, so it's helpful to use a paint you'll be able to clean easily.
• Glossier paint highlights decorative touches in trim, such as angles, curves, and lines.
• While it's true that the glossier the paint, the less it is able to conceal imperfections in the painted surface, semi-gloss strikes a nice balance between the concealing benefits of flatter paints and the light-reflecting qualities of high-gloss paint.

But although semi-gloss is the most commonly used paint finish for trim, you can opt instead for gloss, high-gloss, or satin if you prefer.

Sag Resistance

Thanks to gravity's pull, wet paint can "sag" downwards as it dries, leaving an uneven or blotchy finish. Trim paint is generally somewhat thicker than regular wall paint to help prevent this.

Non-Yellowing Properties

Most trim gets painted white. Window trim, in particular, gets blasted by the sun on a daily basis, and UV rays can quickly yellow the paint.

That's why some paint companies advertise non-yellowing properties with their pre-tinted white paint. Without this feature, different window trims will yellow at different rates. Even different sections within the same window will yellow differently.

Types of Trim Paint

Trim paint comes in two main varieties, oil-based and acrylic-latex:

Alkyd/Oil Based

Oil-based paint is the classic trim paint. If you have a house that is at least a few decades old, chances are good that the trim was painted with oil-based paint.

Oil-based trim paint results in superior, glass-like finishes with minimal to zero brush marks. But this does come at the cost of slow drying times, fumes, and solvent-based clean-up requirements.

Because of its thick consistency, oil-based paint is good at filling in minor holes. However, oil-based paints are less environmentally friendly than latex paints, and so many localities now ban oil-based paints in sizes above quarts. Only use a paintbrush with natural bristles, as the oil formula will affect synthetic bristles.

If you do choose an oil-based paint for your trim, a natural-bristle paintbrush will provide the best results. Be aware that you must use mineral spirits or paint thinner to clean up your brushes after painting with oil-based paint.

Acrylic Latex or Enamel

Water-based paint can produce a good finish and minimal brush marks, but not quite as good as oil-based paint's properties. Brush marks are likelier to be visible. The surface will not have the rock-hard shell texture of oil-based paints. Still, for many people, the benefits outweigh these costs.

Water-based trim paints afford easy clean-up with soap and water. Fumes are minimal or non-existent. You can buy these paints in gallon sizes if needed, and you'll find a wider range of choices at the paint store.

Synthetic-bristled brushes are recommended for latex paint.

Trim Colors

Trim paint is most often white but can be tinted to any color you choose.

White Trim

You can't go wrong with white trim. Of course, there are many variations on white—some are visually cooler than others—but whatever the color of your walls, white trim sets a traditional, non-obtrusive tone.

Matching Trim

For a clean, modern style, consider painting your trim the same color as the walls, whether that's gray, a pastel, a vibrant bright, or a shade of white. This is especially good if your ceilings are low, as it visually stretches the walls.

Black Trim

For an unexpected touch of modern style, paint trim black to contrast with white or light-colored walls. This is a bold look that adds drama to a space but isn't overwhelming.

Bright Trim

You can add a big splash of color and personality to a room by painting trim a bright color that plays off white or light walls. This is especially fun in a child's bedroom but can work equally well in a grownup space that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Tips for Painting Trim

Painting trim isn't difficult, but as with all DIY painting projects, the key to good results is taking the time to prep first.

• Use a sanding block to sand away any rough spots, flaking paint, or other imperfections.
• Fill large holes, cracks, or gouges with spackle or a similar filler.
• Use a stain-sealing primer. Brush the primer over any areas that you've sanded or filled, as well as any bare wood, stains, or other imperfections. If that's a sizable portion of your trim, then go ahead and prime all of it. Otherwise, you are fine just priming areas that need a little extra cover.
• Use painter's tape to cover the edge of the wall or floor that lies against the trim. This protects those surfaces from unwanted drips of paint. Run a paint scraper or credit card along the edge of the tape to ensure a good seal. That will prevent any paint from seeping beneath the tape.
• Choose the right brush. Use a 2-inch trim brush with a slanted edge. These brushes make it easy to paint trim without slopping paint onto the walls or floors.

How to Paint Trim

1. Use the correct amount of paint. Dip your paintbrush into the container of paint, covering no more than 1/3 the length of the bristles, and lightly slap the bristles against the inside of the can to remove excess paint.
2. Paint the trim. Start painting along the trim with your brush around 1/4 inch away from the wall, floor, or ceiling next to the trim. With your next brushstroke, move the brush a little closer to the edge of the trim. Finally, brush along the trim edge. Continue to work in this manner until you've painted the entire edge of the trim. Paint in the rest of the trim, using quick movements of your brush to apply a thick layer of paint, and then going back over the paint to smooth it out.
3. Finish the trim edge. Brush towards the edges of the trim, but don't run your paintbrush right over any edges, as this can create a heavier area of paint that will drip, ruining your perfect finish. (Don't brush wet paint over paint that's already been smoothed, as this will leave brush marks.)
4. Let the paint dry. Allow the paint to dry until it's tacky, but not fully dry, before removing the painter's tape. Otherwise, you can lift some of the fresh paint along with the tape.