# Factory Primed Trim - Good, bad, or otherwise?



## WoodySoCo (Apr 3, 2011)

My new place, the one with the failing caulk I asked about in another thread, is trimmed out with inexpensive, premade, pre-primed window and door frames. Just like the pre-primed baseboard trim now that I think about it!

When removing failed caulk I am _very easily_ scrapping the factory applied primer off of the wood. It seams very poorly adhered, and the wood below very smooth. There are also areas where wood sap has bled through the finish paint.

Should pre-primed trim be RE-primed before finish paint is applied?

Should the factory primer be sanded lightly/off before applying primer/finish?

Is factory primed trim a gimmick, or an actual benefit to the painter?

Thanks,
Jon


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## ltd (Jan 16, 2011)

asking this question tells me you are particular about your house . ok so that's a good thing .you have to prime where nail holes where filled anyways . you can make inexpensive pre primed trim look great with proper prep. lightly sand do not take off pre prime ,i mean very light ,knock off sharp edges again lightly sand hold sand paper in hand and run it over it once done. then dust very good ,prime, caulk,then top coat .:wink:


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## 95025 (Nov 14, 2010)

I think you'll want to prime the trim. My experience is that any of that pre-primed stuff is just covered with "something" - but that something doesn't seem much like any primer I've ever used.


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## spraygunn (Nov 14, 2010)

Hey WoodySoCo,

Just to add to what ltd said, use a slow drying oil base primer. You need to establish a foundation for your finish coat. If you prime with a latex or fast drying primer, it will only lay on top without creating a bond. The longer the drying time, the deeper the penetration and stronger the bond.


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## Matthewt1970 (Sep 16, 2008)

Slow drying oil is not a bad suggestion at all. The pre-primed stuff tends to enhale the first coat of anything you put on it and dries so quick it is almost imposible to not get lap marks.


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

_"When removing failed caulk I am very easily scrapping the factory applied primer off of the wood. It seams very poorly adhered, and the wood below very smooth"_

If the factory coat isn't bonded to the substrate, what difference does it make if the second prime coat is bonded to the factory primer?


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## spraygunn (Nov 14, 2010)

The primer the manufacturer applies is not much better than powder. It makes their product LOOK good, that’s all. By priming the moldings using slow drying oil base primer, it will penetrate and encapsulate as well as absorb the cheap factory primer and create a hard shell around it, making it unable to be scraped or chipped off., or at least more difficult to do so. I know this works because I’ve experienced the same situation on many of the jobs I have done. The oil base primer is the solution. These moldings are another example of the big box stores answer to legitimate lumber and legitimate lumber yards. I miss real lumber yards with old time lumber. It’s sad that knowledgeable lumbers yards were replaced by convenience.


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## WoodySoCo (Apr 3, 2011)

Thanks folks.

Trouble is ALL the trim in my brand new house is covered with 1-2 coats of latex semigloss which overlays the factory 'primer'.

I guess I'll let it ride until it gets ugly, and then just re-trim and paint properly.

20 years ago I painted for a contractor and enjoyed the results we got with BM's Enamel Underbody with Satin Impervo over it. A little Penetrol in there and it was like butter.:thumbup:

Can the new low VOC and latex products come close to that look?


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

I read a not so glowing article a while back about pre-primed trim. It hides a lot of sins and they have issues with mold growing underneath the primer. It was more critical with the exterior use. I'm pretty certain that I suffered a few of those issues. I had a customer who built a nice two car garage a few years ago, I painted the preprimed man-door frame (that was the only painted surface on the whole building, besides the man-door). The following year the entire frame was peeling and failing down to bare wood. And, like Steve was saying, when I sanded it created a lot of dust (my finish was latex, no dust) and a powdery surface. I did the oil trick and two more finish and haven't heard another thing about it.


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