Semi-
What is the best paint to use on trim and baseboards? Because it dries quickly and is easy to clean, latex paint is a popular choice for trim and baseboards. It is also resistant to peeling and fading, allowing it to keep its appearance for an extended period of time.
The most common and best sheen for interior trim is a satin or semi-gloss finish. Satin paint finishes have a medium sheen and are durable and easy to clean. Semi-gloss paint finishes have a higher sheen and stand out in a room. They are easy to clean and stand up to dirt, stains, mold, and mildew.
The Two Most Common Options For Trim Paint:
Paints made of 100 percent acrylic are more expensive but will cure harder and are less porous, making them durable and easy to clean. Acrylic latex paint can be a great choice for interior trim, but it won't match the toughness of oil-based paint.
Spray The Trim With A First Coat
It's time for your first top coat, which should be a high quality trim paint! At Culver's Painting, we use Sherwin Williams' Pro Classic or Emerald Urethane. These premium products are specially designed for woodwork and will provide a beautiful and durable finish.
Brushing is generally the best option for most trim. You can use a mini 4” roller for flat stock trim boards to work more quickly but for trim with complex profile designs a brush allows you more efficiently paint all the edges and grooves.
Hardwoods like oak and maple are an excellent choice of baseboard materials if seeking wood baseboards that can be stained. Hardwoods take stain and varnish well but are significantly more expensive than jointed pine and MDF. Hardwoods are popular as baseboards because of their durability.
Durability and Resistance: 100% acrylic paint tends to be more durable and resistant than latex paint. Acrylic resins provide better adhesion, meaning the paint adheres more firmly to the surface, reducing the risk of peeling or detachment.
High Gloss Paint
Offering a mirror-like finish, high gloss sits on top of the sheen chart. This finish, offered in some paints such as Advance® High Gloss (794), is extremely durable and offers elegant shine.
What kind of paint do you use on trim? When it comes to painting trim and molding, you can buy paint that is specifically designed for this purpose. Trim paint typically has a glossier sheen and is designed to have a thicker consistency (similar to oil paint) for smoother application.
Avoid using eggshell paint in high-contact, high-traffic areas such as door and window trim, baseboards, cabinetry, and doors. It's best to use semi-gloss paint in these areas.
Normally, semi-gloss paint is the best choice for trim work, since high-gloss paints are so shiny that they highlight imperfections.
Semi-gloss finish: This is the best finish for your trims such as baseboards, mouldings and even cabinets and doors. It's also a good choice for highly trafficked area that gets lots of wear and tear such as a mudroom.
How To Paint Trim - Step 2: Picking The Trim Color. One of the most common paint color choices for trim is white because it offers a classic, clean appearance. Whether you are looking to brighten a kitchen or simply clean up the look in a living or dining room, you might consider simply painting the trim white.
Most professional artists choose to paint with oil paints rather than acrylics. While some still choose to paint with acrylic paints, the vast majority choose to work with oil paints instead.
Sherwin-Williams latex paints are easy to work with, dry quickly and are extremely durable. Latex paints clean up easily with soap and water.
Though cheap acrylic paints cost much less than artist-quality acrylics, they have certain drawbacks. Cheap acrylic paint has a higher concentration of binding agents than pigment. This feature gives a dull imprint with reduced coverage. Cheap acrylic paints, or student-quality paints, have narrower color variations.
Modern and minimal flat baseboards.
Flat baseboards play against traditional expectations of a curving, rounded baseboard and instead feature a completely flat surface. Elevate Your Living Experience with Unparalleled Service.
Paintbrush: A paintbrush is an essential tool for painting trim. A short, angled brush is ideal for painting trim. The angled bristles assist with painting corners and edges tidily.
Minimalistic baseboards with straight, simple lines will be a hallmark of modern interiors this year. Painted in the same color as the walls or a shade slightly lighter or darker, they create a seamless transition between walls and floors. Modern crown molding will feature clean, geometric profiles.
You can choose from several different gloss levels for either latex or oil-based paints, but a slightly glossy finish is generally recommended for baseboards since it is more resistant to scuffing and is more washable than a flat finish paint. A semi-gloss or high-gloss paint is usually the best choice for baseboards.
The best paint type for trim is a waterborne alkyd paint like Advance® Interior, which goes on smooth and cures to a hard, furniture-quality finish and is available in over 3,500 colors.
Homeowners typically prefer semigloss because it has a nice, clean look to it, and its smooth surface is easy to clean. Gloss or High Gloss: The highest form of gloss. Gloss is the easiest baseboard to clean, but because of its high sheen, it also makes any marks or dirt more visible.