I’m replacing most of the trim in my living room and taking the opportunity to redo the crown mold and add a chair rail.
Home Depot has preprimed trim profiles that are cheaper than raw wood. I assume this is because it is made out of junkier wood and finger jointed. If all of my trim is going to be painted, are the compelling reasons why I shouldn’t use it?
Will there be paint adhesion problems? Maybe finger joints coming unglued? I don’t know. It seems like I’d be able to save a bunch of time if I don’t have to prime.
Thanks for any advice.
Replies
I'm not familiar with HD's primed trim, but my regular yard sells a line of very nice FJ primed mouldings. Its not Windsor One, but very similar.
I think its great. Cheaper than clear, already primed, and because its made of smaller pieces glued up, it seems more stable than clear trim. Less likely to warp or bow.
When FJ trim came out years ago, there were problems with the finger joints telegraphing thru, and with them de-laminating. I haven't experienced any of that in a long time.
I usually use MDF crown, because its very stable, but doesn't get banged into. But for the rest, FJ pine works very well.
I've used pre-primed quite a few times with no problems. One of our local yards beats the HD price by a good bit on their trim. It is just your basic narrow colonial style, nothing fancy or wide.
did you read this months issue of FHB? all about different paint grade mouldings- A good read!
I just used some in my bath remodel and it worked out fine. However I put another coat of primer on due to the moist environment then followed with a gloss enamel.
I wasn't able to detect any finger joints or any adhesion problems with paint or primer.
good luck.
Rasher;
I used 4 1/4 pre-primed mdf colonial a couple of years ago in my condo. It cuts and copes beautifully, no cupping to distort the cope, takes paint great.
Only drawback is miters seem to take a beating in high traffic areas.
Home Depot uses American Wood Mouldings for their trim in Northeatern Ohio may
be the same in your area. I will tell you that it is generally cheaper to go to a yard as
far as I can tell, with one exception. They do have "Pro Packs" of pre primed trim and
casings that are a good value. There is also some higher end pre primed profiles
but not sure if it the same vendor or not.
For interior purposes, FJ mouldings should not be a problem....but I would recomend that you allow them to acclimate as you would a natural wood. Whereas gaps in joints (miter and otherwise) is where you'll notice shrinking with natural wood mouldings and can be touched up rather easily with caulk, I have seen shrinking (due to drying) of FJ actually seperate at the finger joints themselves, and are not as easily touched up.
I would recomend that you stay away from FJ for exterior mouldings.
Spend the extra time taking a GOOD look at the pieces you purchase while at HD. Often the quality isn't quite as good as your local lumberyards. But if you can see the finger joints through the factory primer, there's a good chance it will end up telegraphing through your finished coat once you have them installed. (Basically....don't assume you'll be able to cover them.)
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