Can You Paint Latex Over Oil-Based Trim?

“Trim” is one word for a whole list of things: doors, crown, door frames, window frames, windows, sills, baseboards, shiplap, wainscoting, chair rail — and custom versions of all of it. Whatever yours is, and whether it’s latex, oil, or stain, we’ve got deep experience with all three. At the end of the day it comes down to prep: we caulk the cracks, fill the nail holes, cut out the old busted-out caulk, and sand before every coat.

Oil Under Latex

Here’s the one that bites people. We don’t just paint over oil-based trim. Put latex over oil and it’ll peel off with the smallest bump — and we fix that a lot. So we always check first. It’s rare on new homes but older homes are notorious for it, so have whoever’s painting check either way. The easy path is to just use oil again; the better path is to prime over it and topcoat with latex so you skip the smell. Either way, the check comes first — we don’t find out the hard way on your trim.

Old Wood Paneling

Old wood paneling? We handle that too, three ways: