I have an old house with a lot of trim. Baseboards, wainscoting, crown molding, built-in cupboards. The walls are probably 50% trim. I also have a lot of old, solid wood doors.
From what I can tell, all of this was originally clear-coated with a varnish or something similar. Then at some point, a previous owner painted over it all, but didn't sand or strip the varnish, they just painted over it, several times.
I had the house repainted when I moved in, but quickly found that the paint would come off the trim really easily, which is when I noticed the varnish. It's been less than a year and there are already a lot of bare areas on the trim and doors.
Stripping down all of the trim and doors, or replacing it all, seems like a monumental task in this house. So I'm wondering if there's anything I can do at this point, maybe something I can coat the painted wood with, that would help a new coat of paint bond to it better?
Best Answer
Paint needs pores to adhere properly.
If the substrate is very smooth or glossy then it should have been prepped in some way such as:
The painter is probably not at fault here since you probably paid them to just paint the trim and not fix the previous owner's mistake.