Last Updated on March 28, 2023 by Dave Farquhar
My friend just bought a new house. And let’s just say the previous owner didn’t take very good care of it. One of the problems he noticed, once he fixed other problems, was beat up baseboard trim. The easiest thing for him to do is paint it. Here’s how to paint baseboard trim white.
Of course, I’m assuming the baseboard is stained and varnished. If it was already white, the job is easy. Mask off the wall and the floor, then slap another coat of white paint on it.
And replacement is always an option, but at the time he moved, lumber prices were sky high. Which meant anything else made of wood was also historically expensive. Painting the existing baseboards was his quickest, cheapest option. Especially considering he was already painting the room, and was dealing with loud colors. And he’d already had to get the floor refinished.
How to paint stained baseboard trim white
Modern paint will stick to wood varnish, but not as readily as you’d like. You really need to rough it up a bit first. Sandpaper works, but most baseboard has curved surfaces to make it look more decorative. Use a coarse kitchen scouring pad or, better yet, some steel wool to get into those fine areas. You don’t have to go wild and remove all the finish, but you do want to rough it up so the paint has something to grab onto. Sand down the trim a bit, then vacuum up the dust.
Next, mask off the floor and the wall, assuming you’re not going to follow up and paint the wall right after. If you have carpet, get a drywall taping knife to stick between the carpet and the baseboard and slide it along as you brush. That will keep the paint off the carpet.
Apply some primer first to make the paint go on better. Let the primer dry according to the instructions. Then follow up with a good quality white paint. When you’re sure you won’t need another coat, peel off the masking tape. Then you can get on with the rest of the project.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.