white paint straight onto wood?

I am thinking of repainting a house and going with:
Caspian white for walls
Ceiling white for ceiling
?vivid white for trims? what type of paint would you use to paint wood trims?

 

I am not too keen on a blue white and wanting something more warm. What whites are people going with for general house

 

The wood trim would be painted with a gloss or semi-gloss enamel. Oil based was normal but the water based enamels work for me but if the original paint is oil based then it is often easier to us an oil based enamel.

Be aware that gloss levels differ between oil and water based paints - water based are less glossy for the same descriptor eg gloss, semi-gloss etc.

If the wood trim has been stained and varnished then you need a specialist prep coat such as Zinsser B-I-N to stop bleeding though.

 

Ceiling white and vivid white are effectively the same thing. Ceiling paint isn't quite a durable (so it's cheaper), it also tends to be a little thicker and is flat so it doesn't highlight the imperfections on the ceiling.

I'm very boring. I do all my walls (in every property I paint) in Antique White. It's timeless and goes with everything.

 

Paint it all the same white and make your life 100x easier

 

I love 'Vivid White' and used it in my last place, but the enamel gloss (used on timber trims etc) became quite yellow pretty quickly (the water-based gloss, which isn't as hard-wearing, holds its whiteness a bit longer I believe). I chose the enamel high-gloss at is is harder wearing but discoloured much more than the water-based paint.

Having said that, the yellowing only became very obvious when comparing to other surfaces - for example, on skirting boards in rooms where the door is usually propped open (and the skirting board doesn't get a lot of direct light), the change in colour only really became obvious when the door was then shut. The colour change between the area usually behind the door and 'out-of-direct-light', vs 'gets-regular-sunlight' sections of the skirting board, became pretty obvious - the change in colour along the same piece of skirting board became almost a 'white vs cream', and it looked liked two very different shades of paint have been used on different parts of the same surface.

No matter which shade of white you go with (if you do go with white), the actual type of paint matters as much as the shade you choose.

 

Gloss enamel paint should never be directly applied to timber. Surface prep using an appropriate undercoat / primer is normal. This improves adhesion and limits bleed and other issues. Always follow manufacturer directions. Test a inconspicuous area and ensure sanding and clean down is followed. Be very wary of "no primer" paints. Its a lazy solution that generally provides a poor performance and wear. Water based enamels are easier to clean up and smell less but arent anything as durable as oil based enamel. If you have issues with clean up effort watch a good video on how to use turps on YouTube to assist to remove your concerns. Turps clean up is easy when you know how. (eg The three jar cleaning method followed by how to wash and dry a brush). Using a decent brush set that you clean properly is also a wise choice v cheap and nastly brushes.

Its like cubic zirconia v diamonds. One is cheaper for a reason. I'm not a fan of cheap paint. You can notice paint quality when stirring it and aftre XX years A paint trade specialist store may be worth a discussion.

 

This may help

Whites again

 

The science of white is interesting. EACH colour of light when combined together all make white light. More or less red, blue, green change how white light (or paint) appear. You can use it to "fake" the white appearance. ANY other colour will change the paint so its not white. Too much of any RGB and the paint will become that colour and a typical 4litre can may need just 3-2ml of tint for that highlight . The white "absorbs" that colour of invisible light to change the paint appearance. To find how much .....cheat...Use a car manufacturer mixing recipe. Find a nice white car you like and get the paint chart. NOT pearl paints or metallics..Many car accessory stores mix paint and can help.

The trick to white paint is the LIGHT in the room. The mistake many make is they paint AND also change lights. Start with the lights. Then the paint. And if you use "warm or soft white globes or modern incandesent arty globes expect a yellow hue and be warned your paint wont stay vivid. You can try all you like. You can add a spot of red to make white more vivid but if the red spectrum of light is too high the paint will appear soft and even pale from its vivid white. Light in a room comes from two sources. Natural and artificial light.

 

Personally I hate water based gloss. Used it once. Never again. Definitely hasn't lasted like the others we di8d with oil based.
As much as I hate using turps based paint (hate the cleanup) I will only use that for skirts etc.
You need to give it a good clean to remove dirt, oils etc. A good primer will also help it bond and prevent leakage of any stain.