Is It Better to Paint or Refinish Woodwork?

Q: We need to repaint the interior of our home. At the same time, I would like to have the trim work painted white. Also, I would like new base molding. Any hints to keep costs down? How much more expensive is it to paint woodwork compared with refinishing what is there?

A:

The least expensive treatment for your stained woodwork and doors would be to live with the current color and simply touch up with stain and varnish it. It is fine to leave some rooms stained and paint others, as long as there are definite breaks. It is not even uncommon to paint one side of a door (say facing into a hall with painted baseboards) and leave the other side stained to match the cabinets and baseboards inside a den, for example.

Refinishing woodwork, including trim, doors, window casings, cabinets, etc. by removing the stain, sanding, restaining with another color and varnishing is at least as costly as painting. The results can be unpredictable, so it is usually advisable to paint the woodwork for best results.

If you are getting new baseboards, you can buy many different styles in synthetic paint grade material for less than real wood and have the painter spray them before they are installed. Then you or your carpenter can cut them to fit, caulk and fill the nail holes, then touch up with paint after they are installed. (Your carpet and hardwood specialists can advise you about the best time to install them in relation to their work.)

The process to paint previously stained woodwork is as follows:

1. Clean with detergent (T.S.P. works fine)

2. Prime with a stain locking primer

3. Sand, caulk all cracks, fill all nail holes

4. Apply two finish coats of paint. My preferred application is to spray since it saves time (and money) and you get a much nicer finish. The down side is that you have little access to your home. Although this is not inexpensive, the beautiful results should be worth every penny you invest in your home.

Tim Perryman, Perryman Painting, Sacramento, CA