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We’re wanting to paint all the trims in our old 80’s house but it looks like the trims have all been stained brown
or painted years ago. Do we need to sand them first or is there a paint that we can use?
Hi @Sascha - given the age of the house, the trim is most likely an oil based stain/varnish. You have a couple of choices:
1. Light sand and then paint with an oil base gloss or semi gloss enamel paint (Turps clean up plus longer drying time) or,
2. Light sand and then use a water base primer designed to stick to oil base products. Examples: Dulux 1 Step, White Knight Griplock Primer (very good), British Prep 4 in 1, Rustoleum Smart Prime. Then paint using a water base enamel (water clean up plus quicker drying time).
Theoretically Dulux Aquanamel will stick to an oil base finish, but you need to use 3 coats (the first is a priming coat), given the cost, It’s no cheaper than buying a suitable primer and another brand of water base enamel, nor do you save any labour - so it’s down to personal choice, cheers Deb 
Hi @Sascha,
Great to see you make your first post on Workshop and receive such a prompt and helpful reply from Deb. We're looking forward to seeing how your painting job turns out. Feel free to post again if you need any further assistance.
Welcome to Workshop. We have helpful members sharing advice and inspiration for your projects around the house and garden every day so welcome to you join in the discussion anytime.
Jason
Many thanks for joining in the discussion and sharing your knowledge @Aliciaann. I'm sure @Sascha really appreciates the advice.
Let me also extend a very warm welcome to the community. We're really pleased to have you join us and look forward to reading more of your posts soon as it sounds like you have plenty of experience that you can share. Feel free to post anytime you need a hand with anything around the house and garden. And please let me know if you ever need assistance getting the most from the Workshop site.
Jason
