I have some old woodwork in the family home in Harwich that needs some painting / updating. the whole wall that the fireplace is built into is stained and I believe varnished/shellac classic wide pine and trim panels and the baseboard woodwork is just stained, and trim around door is also varnished. My sister is after me to paint it all white. Since I am doing the walls anyways now would be the time. I have done quite a bit of painting in my life and never really was pleased with the results of previous painters so I never tried it myself. It seems it looks ok at first but wears very poorly leading to an ugly mess of peeled paint that is a pain to feather out.

Should I do it and if so any tips in doing this?
Killz first to seal knots I assume?
Should I just hand sand or trust one of the liquid prep products?
Use only oil paint - really latex is made much better these days and IMO oil is not as good.

Thanks!

shoot slingah a pm. he's a pro and always willing to help out

hard to get what your saying but....
no Kilz on knots....use BIN
might want to lightly scuff sand and thoroughly clean and dry
prime with a bonding oil primer like Coverstain by Zinnser or XIM ( depends on what is on there now as in shellac, varnish, poly etc...)
caulk gaps in between primer & finish
Finish with whatever you like...
Not many oil finish paints left in MA anyway....

1. sand-sand-sand till you think your blue in the face.

2...vac everything off "well"

3..use "wil-bond" and wipe everything down real good.

4...use bin on knots "only"

5...ben moore underbody enamel oil primer

6..after dry..sand lightly.

7...vac again

8 finish of your choice.

Not a pro but one tip I got when painting was to use a 5 gallon bucket to hold one gallon of paint (or amount needed) with the metal grate hanging inside to get rid of excess off roller - more stable and seemed to work faster than using a tray. I hate to see natural wood covered with paint but everyone has their personel taste and I am sure it will look great. Those prep ideas sounded great and that is where all the work is. Good Luck!!! :chased: