My uncle's one comment made me stop overpainting every trim job

I used to take pride in doing three coats of paint on every piece of trim, thinking thicker was better. Last summer my uncle watched me work on his baseboards and said "you're wasting paint and time, two thin coats is plenty if you prep right." I was skeptical but tried it on my next job. He was totally right. The finish looked cleaner and I saved about an hour per room. Now I only do extra coats if the color change is drastic. Has anyone else had a family member call out a habit you thought was the "right way"?

3 comments

3 Comments

diana6171mo agoTop Commenter

Stick with one good coat of primer tinted to match your top color. I learned that the hard way after painting a whole door white over dark red. Three coats of white barely covered it and looked chalky. Primed it once with tinted primer, did two thin coats, looked like glass. Your uncle's right about prep but he's still overworking it. Slap on that tinted primer and save yourself a coat of paint every time.

ray3561mo ago

Did you sand that tinted primer at all or just lay it on thick?

karenh561mo ago

Sand it lightly first or that tinted primer will peel right off.