How To Block Stains, Prime, and Paint Wood Trim and More
As you know, I am trying to banish all the 1970’s brown in my house. It is on the trim, staircase, doors, cabinets and more. There is nothing wrong with brown trim, it can look beautiful, but I prefer white so I am working my way through all the rooms in my house with a paint brush loaded with white paint.
Dark trim that outlines windows and doors can make a room look smaller. I want to make the rooms feel more spacious, light and airy.
I recently got to try out a new paint product that will not only hide all the brown, but block the old brown stain from seeping through the all the white paint I plan to cover the brown with. It promises to do this in only a few steps.
UPDATE: This product is no longer sold. I don’t know why and can’t find information anywhere on the web about it.
A perfect name for a paint that does stain blocking + priming + painting and dries to a semi-gloss finish if that is the sheen you want. It also comes in flat and eggshell finishes.
It did all of this in only a coat or two, plus it was a water based latex with low VOC’s. It had no odor at all.
I have looked for a similar product and can recommend using any KILZ primer first – two coats. Then two coats of a good brand name latex.
Once you have your paint, follow the tutorial below as it is still a worthwhile read to help you get the best painted finish on your trim.
Here is the before shot of the window. The brown trim is so old that the shiny finish is gone. All that remains is the stain.
Here is the door.
I know I needed a product that would block the stain and wood tannins from seeping through the paint that could change the tint of the white paint. Normally I would use 2 coats of stain blocking primer and then 2 coats of paint.
How To Block Stains, Prime, and Paint Wood Trim
The hardest part of any paint job is the prep. When you take the time to get the surface prepped right, you are setting the project up for success.
How to Prep Before Painting Wood Trim
- Sand the surface with medium sandpaper (100 grit) to rough up the surface. This provides some “tooth” for the paint to grab onto.
- Vacuum or dust off the sanding grit.
- Wipe the surface down with a soapy damp rag or cloth and then repeat with clean water to make sure all dirt and grease are gone. Let dry.
Once the trim was dry, I applied the paint with a 2-inch angled sash brush. I needed two coats, and added a third coat on the inside bottom section of the window that had some dark water staining along it.
Here you can see how the paint covered the brown after only one light coat.
To make the trim look like a pro painted it, after your first coat of paint is dry, check for nail holes and gaps along the length of the trim. These gaps are easier to spot after the first coat of paint is on.
For instance, the trim around the door in the room had a big gap between the face piece and the side pieces of molding. I filled these in with caulk and then used my finger dipped in water to smooth the caulk.
My favorite caulk to use is called DAP Alex Plus Easy Caulk. I like it because it comes in a CheezeWiz style container that makes it so easy to use. No caulk gun needed. The only place I can find it anymore is at Walmart or Amazon.
Caulking TIP: You can also run an ice cube down a line of just applied caulk to smooth it so it blends in with the wood.
After the caulk is dry, then apply the second coat of paint…. no more unsightly gaps and nail holes.
Painting TIP: When using latex paint, if you use painter’s tape to mask walls, glass, etc, remove it before the paint dries. If you don’t, you may end up pulling off some of the paint when you remove the tape.
If your latex paint has dried, before removing the tape, run the blade of a craft or box knife between the tape and the wall, trim, or glass. This will break the bond between the tape and painted wall, trim, or glass and will lessen the chance of pulling the paint off the newly painted surface.
I not only banished the brown, but I also updated the cranks on the window.
I called the window manufacturer and was happy to find out that even though the windows are from the 70’s, I could still buy new cranks that would fit…white ones that also can be pushed down flat. No more ugly cranks and covers. The guy at the Pella store had to search the warehouse, but he found what I needed. WIN/WIN all around. Hows that for progress in invention? There have been even better cranks made since this style, but I am very happy that I could buy something that would fit perfectly and look nice.
Step-by-step with each update I make to the house it is becoming more our own.
Next up for this room is to paint the fan and remove the very old wallpaper on the walls. It comes off easily, but there is a ton of wheat-paste behind it.
Lots of water, wallpaper paste remover and scrubbing in my near future and of course...Complete will take care of any water stains that may be hiding under all that 1970’s wallpaper that was painted over many years ago.
If you have been reading my blog for a while then you know one of my go-to paint products is Glidden Gripper. It is the best when you are paining over shiny surface or don’t want to sand to the bare wood. I used it 16 years ago when I painted my kitchen cabinets in my previous house and have been using it on many pieces of furniture, doors, and more since then.
I will still use Gripper when dealing with shiny surface, but when I need a stain-blocking paint and primer, I will be reaching for Complete. A gallon is under $30.
You can find Complete at Walmart. It comes in both gallon and quart sizes.
One project at a time my TO-DO list is getting shorter. It feels good to have one more Complete. :-)
GIVEAWAY
I have 5 cans of Glidden Complete Stain Blocking Paint + Primer to giveaway to one of you so you can see how great the coverage and finish is for yourself.
I used Complete on wood trim, but it can be used on walls, furniture and whatever needs a stain blocking primer and paint.
Giveaway Is OVER:
Congrats to the winner: Gail D.
Glidden provided me with Complete for this review. Thank you so much for supporting the sponsors that make In My Own Style possible. As always, all content and opinions are my own.
Can you tell me how your paint job is holding up?
Hi Danna –
The trim is as white as the day I first painted it. I used it on a few doors, too. No stains or orange color bleeding through on any section. Glidden Complete was the best one step paint to tackle the old and tannin filled trim in my home. The sad thing… they no longer sell it, at least anywhere that I can find. I am not sure why and can’t find any information.
If you need to paint over old stained brown trim I would recommend what I used on my kitchen cabinets that were the same type and color of stained wood. You will find the post here: https://inmyownstyle.com/2017/01/painting-kitchen-cabinets-tips-for-success.html
The cabinets are still pure white, no yellowing or orange staining after a year and half.
Just bought our house and are desperate for some new colors. It’s been the same since the 70s and the brown is just too much for us.
I bought my first house, a mobile home, in 2013 and am ready to start “fixing.” The entire interior has to be painted, and it is all that cheap paneling they always used. This paint would be ideal, and I would be forever grateful if I should win it.
Diane, I am most impressed with your energy and vision. Good job!
Glidden Complete sounds like what I need in my bathroom. We have beadboard in there – and it’s pine. Even though we’ve painted it white three times, some of the knotholes show too much. Perhaps this paint will cover them for good!
Hey,
Thanks for sharing this. I have also found something similar at http://www.google.com.
i would love to try it on all of the trim that needs to be painted in my house.
Diane, our home has the same brown trim and also brown solid-core doors as yours; love the solid-core doors, the brown stain, not so much. Like you, the doors and trim in our entire home need to be painted white. As you know, a daunting task, but the Glidden stain block, primer and paint would make that task seem much more do-able, and obviously end with a beautiful result.
Thanks for all your tips. I save each and every one that apply to our home.
I’d love to paint my bedroom
I have a dresser and nightstand that are stained that I have been thinking about painting some day. They aren’t antiques, so I feel comfortable about just giving them a simple paint job. It sounds like Complete would help make this job easier.
My dining room! It has a wooden chair rail that has been painted with a different stain blocking paint that seems to have stopped working. This would be a great incentive to paint not demolish.
My house was also built in the 70’s and has brown doors and trim. I would love to paint it all! Okay, I wouldn’t LOVE to do it myself but this paint would make it easier.
I have been looking for paint like this. we are renovating a 1904 craftsman style farm house. All the trim work is brown. Depressing!! I wanted to paint a china cabinet. server and curio cabinst also. This sounds like the answer. I have used so many of your ideas. Thank you for posting them.
Just a tip I got from a professional wallpaper hanger many years ago, when stripping your paper, spray the walls and paper with a mixture of hot water and liquid fabric softener. Works Just like Dif, but way less expensive and smells much better!
Hi Mary – Thanks for sharing the tip about using liquid fabric softener to remove wallpaper. I will buy it and try it out. Thanks so much.
Wow! Your place is coming along so nicely! You seem to have endless energy, creativity and resolve. You go! Hmmmm….pretty sure I’d use it to recreate a beautiful living room and foyer. The color in there is getting pretty outdated…. Thanks for a chance to win!
I would like to try it in the dining room which I am painting “white”. Your house is looking great! Thanks:)
My entire house can benefit from this miracle worker of a paint can. We are finishing up putting our windows and all the trim needs to be repainted and caulked. They have an oil based finish on them and they have proved to be a pain to repaint.
I’ve been wanting to paint my dining room set the black pottery barn finish. This would be perfect for the job!
Your post was perfect timing! I’ve been struggling as to how to paint the dated, orangey trim in our home and discovering this product is a godsend! Maybe painting all of my trim won’t be as scary as I’ve been imagining. I really love watching you transform your new home, it truly inspires me!
looks great!
Wow…how generous! Thanks for the chance to win. :) I especially love that you’re giving away 5 gallons. My house is from the 1920’s and as you can imagine, there is a lot of wood trim with a dark stain. We have slowly been working our way room by room, but there is still a lot of it to cover. I would get all of it done, once and for all. It would be lovely to have all of the trim white.
I, too, can’t stand the 1950’s brown wood trim in my home. So for the past few years I’ve been sanding, priming and painting. I will DEFINITELY try a gallon of Glidden Complete. Thanks for the great tip, Diane!
I would use this in the kitchen to prevent and cover staining on the walls from grease residue and the kids room to protect the walls from the crayola hijinks.
have a new place I will be moving into next week.. I will have one side of the duplex and my son and his family the other side. Really looking forward to getting out of this rental we’ve been in for almost a year since we moved back to Alaska. I think this new paint product will save me a lot of time. Thanks for your comprehensive review. Looking forward to having a white background and being able to used paintings I’ve collected and quilts I’ve made to warm it up and change accent colors when ever I wish. Thanks for helping me decide that this is the direction I want to go. Now how about help deciding on draperies. Ha ha!
So many ideas. We have white trim already, but we have outdated wood on the staircase, trim on vanities, and a couple of bookcases. I’d probably tackle those. I used Glidden paint in my family room last fall and decided it was my favorite paint ever. Glad to know about the gripper since I need to paint kitchen cabinets. I just love how your house is coming along, and I’m amazed at your productivity.
Anything that’s still ugly brown!
I have a huge, rough cedar fireplace mantle & surround. We have already cut 2′ off the mantle piece so there is only a 4″ over-hang on each side. It would be fabulous in a lodge, on a huge wall of windows. But alas, we live in the ‘burbs. It takes up almost the entire wall, in the darkest area of our house. I have been dreaming of painting it white for 5 years. Finally, it is time! Glidden Complete sounds like the product I need to make this a successful project. :-)
We’ve been updating our house one room at a time and all the the windows in my house have stained trim. I’ve been painting them as we go on the first floor. The second floor is going to be done this fall and boy do I hope I win that paint!! It would be a great help.
We are slowly painting all the trim and the ugly orange doors in our house, I bet Complete would really cover well on those doors! As always I loved reading your post, you are always so down to earth and relatable :)
We are busy updating our family room. We closed up a window, are thinking of replacing the remaining three windows in the room and working on the (brown) trim – maybe it needs painting! – installed a tv mount and hid the cords, and may be replacing some furniture. I’ve looked back at many of your past posts and found them helpful. I’ll take the Glidden Complete paint :)
Your house is really coming along, it looks great! Thanks for sharing.
Wow Diane! What a great new look after painting your wood tone moldings white! I cant believe how bright your room looks now! Makes your kitchen table and chairs ‘pop’! And on that note- would you mind sharing where your got your chairs from? I tried looking at what PB had, but at $249. for each chair that is NOT happening! Besides I love the gentle ‘swoop’ of the back of your chairs better and I am hoping that they are still available and reasonably priced. Thanks in advance!
Sounds like the perfect thing for painting the wood paneling in our new baby’s room. He’s due to arrive in early August!
My garage could really benefit if I used Complete by Glidden!
I have old oak kitchen cabinets from a remodel that are waiting for me to paint and install in my garage!
Wow Diane, the painted trim looks go much better. I have dark wood trim in every room except my dinning room. I would love to paint it all. If I win the Complete I’ll begin with the trim in the foyer. Vikki in VA
Our kitchen is mustard yellow which we’ve enjoyed for quite a few years but we’re ready for a lighter, brighter look. Hope to win the Complete paint. Your blog is sooooo helpful for a decorator challenged person like me.
My front window and inside front door need desperate help. You are too generous.
Ps. The house is coming along nicely.
The living room could use some sprucing up!
Ice cube genius.
Hi Diane,
My dear future husband, bless his heart, is practically color blind. I love him to the moon and back but the Glidden Complete will help me cover the sickly, orange-ish, sherbet color he picked for the dining room, kitchen, family room, coffee bar and the laundry room (yes, really the laundry room). Please, please let me win. Fingers crossed. :)
PS. I LOVE your blog!
Hi Diane!
Your trim work looks amazing — so clean! I am currently in the process of “bleaching” my entire house. Gone are the Tuscan colors of ten years ago. I’m repainting the majority of rooms in my house (by myself) in Ben Moore Swiss Coffee. I AM IN LOVE with it! My house feels so bright and fresh! In the last two months, I have painted my master bedroom and bathroom, family room, breakfast area, kitchen, command center, mudroom, entryway, and two hallways. I am obsessed! I have two rooms left to go — my dining room and my study. Both are painted in dark colors (french blue and deep khaki). I would love to try this brand of Glidden to see how it handles the dark colors on my walls. I’ve gone through seven gallons of paint thus far. Would love to grab five more gratis!
Thanks for sharing your talents with us!
1980s house over here! I’m slowly going through each room painting windows and door frames. I have five more rooms and staircase to go so this would be an awesome prize. It really does change the feel of a room when I paint over the brown.
Hi Diane,
Thank you for the Glidden review and giveaway! I would love to try it on our hallway walls and trim first, then continue with our living room, kitchen, and family room areas. I enjoy reading your blog. All the best!
I would love to use this Glidden Complete on my walls – living room, dining room, kitchen and entry – wanting to lighten up our dark walls painted about 7 years ago. I’ll need a lot more than 5 cans but can certainly purchase more!
II have the same Windows throughout my house so I’d love to win and go on a painting spree!
I would love to use Glidden on my walls. Will be sell this house in the near future and these walls need to be updated! Thanks!!
I rediscovered Glidden paint last year when I was updating my bedroom and bathroom and fell back in love with it. I would love to use the Complete on all the trim downstairs as I’m tackling it all this summer. Thanks for the giveaway!!
I would like to paint the golden oak colored trim throughout my house, white is my color choice. I also plan to paint the walls in some rooms, so I have a question. Do I paint the woodwork trim first before the walls are painted or after the walls are painted?
The item I would HAVE to paint over is the chocolate brown window casings in my living area, dining room and kitchen. I was looking for the ideal solution to tackle this project. Can’t wait to try it.
I would like to update the wood trim in my house and paint it white like you did. I have been thinking about it for a while but was not sure what paint to use. I am really happy to know what to use thanks to your post.
I want to tackle our master bedroom since it is still painted green and yellow from the previous owner’s child. Thanks for the giveaway!
We’re in a post-renovation phase with a lot of new wood trim: baseboards and door casings. It all needs to be painted! Glidden Complete would be wonderful.
I would use it on a pedestal table base that I bought at the thrift store. I have already painted all the brown trim in my home a lot of years ago, it would have been so much easier with this paint.
I would use it to paint my bathroom cabinets. Love how it covered your trim.
My husband and i could have used this as we were painting all of the trim in our house. We do still need to paint one room and possibly some oak bookshelves so this Complete paint may be just what we need!
I would love to try on my built in oak bookcases. It appears to be the perfect paint for the job. Thanks for the giveaway.
Great job – the house just gets better and better. Love to watch what you are doing, step by step. Inspirational for all of us, no matter how large or small our projects.
Thanks for sharing this product as well as your new home progress. I desperately need to repaint my wood trim as most of it has something bleeding through from the raw wood. Not sure what it is as we are second owners and I have already tried repainting some of trim only to have it bleed through again. While I’m at it the living room could use a new coat of paint. Hope to win…thanks!!!!
Diane, the updating on your new home is amazing! I am currently updating a home to put on the market to sell and have been using some of your ideas to help the process move along faster! Thanks for sharing all your fantastic tips!
I’d love to try this paint in my living room. I have wood trim and the walls are half way up wood. I’ll be doing the fireplace as well. I’m excited to see how transformed my space will be. Because my living room flows directly into the kitchen I plan to continue the same colors into there. Do you think this would work well on wood cabinets? I think you said you’d used it for that too.
Don’t know how it happenned, but the paint on my front door (metal) inside the house, just fell off in huge chunks. So now I have a door in need of sanding and paint! The door trim as well as the windows in the foyer will need to be painted too. It’s a domino effect. Then the closet doors will need it too, and so on!
A house is a never ending project! Love what you do, Diane!
We too just bought a lake house and I am in the process of changing all the brown to white. Your projects are such an inspiration to me and I refer to your posts often. I love Glidden Gripper but would use Complete on the brown paneling in the dining room! Two coats with one product appeals to my impatient nature to cover the brown! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful transformations.
All the wood trim in the house we are hoping to buy! Great post and perfect timing for us.
I need to paint all my wood trim in my new to me home. The timing of this post was perfect!
Paula
Lovely improvement in your trim. You are so helpful in detailing the little steps that make it look professional. Love how the lake house is becoming your home.
Smiles
I would paint my sons bedroom. It is red and orange!!
Beautiful! I will definitely give this paint a try. This summer, I plan to paint the cabinets in my in-law suite kitchen.
I would paint wood trim on windows in my three seasons room
I would like to try it on an oak bathroom vanity. Next would be painting all the trim in the house. We’ve also been talking about painting the kitchen cabinets. So many projects to choose from! Your house is quickly turning into a home.
I just love what you do so much! I got to your blog because we are going to paint the kitchen cabinets. I loved the way you made it seem possible. So that is where the paint will go.
I homeschool my grands along with my daughter and I am using your studio office as my guide! So I could paint the ” classroom ” too.
Thank you for all the fun I am having.
We’re soon to be moving into a house with very dark paneling that I would like to paint over. This would be perfect!
Great timing, I need to paint my kitchen cabinets. This is just what I need. Thanks! You always inspire us.
We have stained wood trim in our house, by choice, when we built the house 22 years ago. It was more costly as the wood needed to be a better quality. We are lightening up all the interior colors. I just looked at the bathroom today and thought, wouldn’t the trim look better painted white? And then I read your post! I’ll start small with the bathroom and see where it leads.
I love the white trim!
I desperately need to paint my kids bathroom. It’s currently and ugly shade of brown and it needs lightened and brightened?
Hi Diane. So glad you are settling in your new place. We have bead board and trim up the walls half way in our family room that is stained and we want to paint white. We are changing the whole color scheme away from the tans and greens to whites and grays to lighten up the whole house. We were not looking forward to the job but this looks like it will help make it go alittle quicker.
I would like to repaint all of the trim in my house (18 year old trim and 2 stories – eww!). It is due to be repainted and in dire new of a good repainting. ;-)
I’m so glad I caught your Facebook update! I read through hoping this new product would be available at Walmart since we have one in our small town. That is some sensational coverage. I need to do my kitchen window and I’ve dreaded it because it’s stained brown wood trim. Such a great tip about the new handles too, because they also open French style and they are a golden bronze color, I don’t think it would have occurred to me to see if they has alternate cranks!!
You new trim looks sooo pretty, the coverage looks really smooth too.
I would love to try this product on kitchen cabinets. THANKS for this opportunity!
Oh, I NEED this! I’ve been looking for a product to use on the framed glass doors going out to my deck, and this is it.
Thank you for the post, and thank you for the giveaway, my fingers are crossed!
I have so much to paint that I don’t know where to begin. Please put me down for a chance to repaint this whole house.
Love your ideas & your new lake house. I would use that product on woodwork in my den.
The previous owner of our home painted black circles all over the ceiling and the walls of one of the bedrooms. I need something that will block out the black. I would love to try the Glidden product!
All through the house the former owners just painted white over raw wood and all over are small patches where the stain has seeped through. I tried repainting but it only lasted for a couple of months. I’m so happy to be able to learn of a product to solve this problem. Quick question. Do I have to sand the trim that’s already been painted or can I just go straight to painting. Thanks very much. It’s been a lot of fun watching the progress of your house. Looking very, very nice.
Wow,Wow,Wow!! Looks great!!! You are giving me the inspiration to tackle my guest
bathroom. I sure can use this complete paint giveaway ?
We moved into our house 14 years ago. I painted light walls and dark trim. Dark carpet and orange-y wood floors. I would love to update the main level which continues to the upstairs hallway, but painting over the dark trim would take me like 5 coats. Paining trim in only two coats sounds like a DREAM. Would love to win!
Great job…your room looks so much brighter and modern! I would love to paint our breakfast room wicker furniture! It’s…brown.
I have many places I would like to paint, but after seeing the results you got covering the wood trim, I would like to do something similar. We have wood baseboards throughout most of our home and I would cover those.
I would love to be able to repaint the kitchen. The paint is a dark color and I would like to lighten and brighten it up. Thanks for the chance to win!
I would either tackle all the baseboards, doorways and trim in the entire house or paint our back patio so that my kids could enjoy themselves out there and I could begin decorating it! Eenie, meenie, miney MO!
Love this blog! I have a hutch that is brown wood and would love to update! This would be the perfect Summer Project!
Thank you for your the opportunity to win!
Kathryn
I now own my mothers hutch. Even though it is a piece to remember, it is dark wood. I so want to paint it white. With this paint I could get up the nerve to do so. thanks for sharing.
We had a kitchen fire in March and we have some smoke damaged sheet rock that we need to use it on. The ceiling in the kitchen use to be white but after a lot of scrubbing it is gray. This would be awesome to try!
We live in a great fixer upper from 1964. As much as I love all the wood trim in our home it’s seen better days and could use a fresh coat of white paint :)
I have a huge, brown laminate office desk that I’ve been wanting to transform. This paint would be perfect for that project.
Our new-to-us home was built in 1979 and I’m in the process of painting our new trim and old window casings and new doors white. One door took me 8 hours for 3 coats. With two little kids, I would love an easier process!
I have moved back in to the home where I grew up and am slowly, but surely, remodeling. The kitchen cabinets were originally “pink”. Though I have sanded and painted them, the pink tint continues to bleed through. This is a labor of love and I would like for the final look to be one that my folks would have been proud of. Thanks for all your great ideas and helpful hints!
I would paint an old dark brown buffet we have.
Hi Diane, This post was perfect for me. My house has 80’s brown trim that I don’t like but dreaded the thought of painting – my hallway alone has 6 doorways, ugh! I think the job will be much easier with this product. Thanks for sharing.
I have the perfect candidate! A vintage, beautiful mahogany dresser I am ready to paint cottage white. Thanks Diane!
I’m always interested in saving time…we are painting the stained wood trim and doors in our house white. Currently I use a product from Lowe’s that blocks and seals, then a top coat from Sherwin Williams. It takes minimum 3 coats, really 4-5. So yeah. One or two coats. I’m very there!
We have stated diy projects room by room. At the moment I am slowly transforming the master to a French cottage look. (Trying) I think this paint would work well and save so much time when we start on the furniture. Thanks
All the trim and doors in my house need updating.
Can this paint be tinted another color?
Our home is 39 years old and we’re painting old woodwork and doors gradually. I still have a lot to do! Nothing has worked as well as what I see in your pictures. My next project is the master bedroom. That’s where I’d like to use this paint. Thank you.
We need a complete repaint job from the office in the front of the house to the bedrooms in the back. White is the way to go for us (unless you have another suggestion) because this house is so very dark. We only get the very early morning light very briefly. I’m hoping we can use eggshell finish on the walls and high gloss on the massive amount of woodwork that we have in this house. This time, I also want to paint the picture rails in every room. We painted the walls white before, but it has faded to this awful bone color that seems the same color as when we moved in.
Thanks!
I have my Mom’s dresser from the 60s that I want to paint and also change my dark woodwork to white also. Enjoy your posts. Wish I had your energy.!?
I would start with painting all the woodwork/trim in our home.
I love that! It is beautiful! I need to update the trim in my family room and redo the trim in my master bedroom. This seems like the perfect product to do it!!
My entire house could benefit from Glidden Complete! I am currently painting the trim in our bedroom with Behr, but I would love to try Glidden in the guest room. If it works as well as you say then I would gladly switch brands! Thank you so much for the review and giveaway.
It’s looking great!! I would use this paint in my Sunday School classroom. It’s been a back burner project to get the loose wallpaper down and paint the walls. But I know I will need to use some sort of stain blocking paint, because 3/4 of each wall is old, glossy, heavy wood paneling. It’s beautifully finished, but rather orange. And I know my room would look bigger with the trim and paneling painted white!
Kitchen cabinets definitely.
This sounds like a paint I need to try. I want to update brown doors.
I am so glad you posted this article! I live in a house built in the 1930’s. Practically every room is dark wood with dark wood trim. My husband is disabled and I am all thumbs so I generally shy away from major changes. I am finally going to take the plunge and try painting my den white!!
Oh my, getting ready to paint the entire interior of my house. Most of it hasn’t been touched in 20+ years! I need this paint!
I have LOTS of brown trim to paint in my house. This would give me a definite start on it!!
Good afternoon, hopefully you are having a sunny day by the lake. I would use the paint for the trim in my 1980 house. We have all doors,trim is stained and needs to be updated.
I have kitchen cabinets that need this paint!
Hi Diane: I have a dining room with built in cabinets that are brown and would love to paint them white.
I did notice in the large gap where you caulked that there was a hinge inside, why would you caulk over a hinge? Or was I just seeing things? LOL
Your lake house is coming along so beautifully. Love the vinyl flooring in the office, I may even try to put that down.
Thanks for the give-a-way.
What a great give away! I can’t wait to see how you paint the ceiling fan as I’m getting ready to do one that is brass and cream. I plan to keep the brass but haven’t figured out if my husband will have to remove all it for me to paint it. I would love to try the paint, primer, stain blocker to tie together a pair of fuggly bookcases that are cheap oak-look laminate, a tall lingerie chest in blond maple and a metal file cabinet lining one wall in my studio.
Our old, old, old tiny cottage at the lake has a back bedroom completey covered in paneling, including the ceiling. It’s the perfect place to give Complete a try.
I love how professional the paint job looks, amazing! I hate hate hate all the oak trim and cabinets in my kitchen, huge job but would be so up to it! Too bad we can’t get this in Canada.
Hi Diane, I have a dresser I’d love to paint, and some trim in the living room. Thanks for the giveaway!
l would love to use it to paint the trim and baseboards in my home which has never been done in the 17 years I’ve had my home. Thanks :)
Oh do I need this – my master bath has old and I mean old wallpaper. I need to remove it and then paint. Your room looks great!
Just the idea of painting has been so depressing I just procrastinate! !! I love the idea of baby steps to get it done. The Complete would be an easy solution to start on the baseboards that really need attention. Love your ideas.
We painted all our trim 18 years ago and it’s needing to be painted again, ugh! So this would get us started. I also have an antique wardrobe that needs some serious tlc and could use it on that, as well.
Dianne we did this exact same thing to our house 18 years ago when I was SO pregnant! We paid someone, though. It’s held up okay but really need to re-paint it all again. So we’d use this to paint our trim again.
I’m getting ready to sell my house, and one of my projects is to repaint the dark green front door white. It sounds like this new paint will be perfect. It can certainly wait til Friday (door is all prepped and ready to go), so I’ll wait hopefully til then before I head to Walmart buy a can of this magical paint.
I think I would repaint the dining room.
wish it was sold in Canada……
So wish I had known about this before I painted my kitchen cabinets!! Am going to begin a bathroom reno in the next few weeks and this would work great for my base cabinet and all the stained trim in there. We live in a 70’s era house, too and am gradually turning into something other than a big brown box!
Diane, I love your blog… I recently salvaged/rescued a really cute piece of furniture (hutch) that needs some love. I can repair it no problem BUT someone painted it fire engine red.. I mean glow in the dark, stop traffic red. I would love to use this product on this piece. I could use all the help I can to bring this beauty back to its original glory.
Thanks for your continued inspiration.
Kim
I’ve used quite a few brands of paint, but would love to try this. I’m contemplating a couple of rooms, but the most immediate projects are two large pieces of furniture. I’ll wait until after Friday to buy the paint. :-)
Your room looks wonderful, and the tips are helpful too. Details make such a difference.
I could use “Complete ” in my powder room. Was excited to hear about the window cranks. I have those type of windows on my sun porch.
I would love to win this paint for use in my living room and on an old armoire. Thanks for the tips and chance to win!
Oh Diane, I am a huge fan of real wood trim but I am a convert after seeing how well your room turned out. Gorgeous! Thank you for the info about Gripper and Complete. Wow! I have some wooden folding chairs I would paint in a heartbeat and, if I feel ambitious, the kitchen needs some serious attention. :) It is small so… dining room too! :)
Thanks again for all the great tips and the tour of your beautiful new home!!
Diane, totally in love with what you have done, brightened everything! I usually use BEHR…would be worth it to try on my projects something new. THanks for the info.
Thanks for this post. I used chalk paint on my kitchen table and sealed it with floor varnish, but the wood stain is bleeding through the white chalk paint. I will try again with Complete. I read somewhere that varnish (ie, Varathane) has a tendency to pull stains up to the surface. Do you know if this is the case also with Complete? Thank you!
Oooooh LA LA! I would LOVE to use this to paint my living room, it desperately needs it!
Staircase in my family room could use a coat of Fresh Paint….
My pine kitchen cabinets built by my husband over 30 yrs ago. I tried painting them about 5 yrs ago especially to ‘lighten up’ our dark basement kitchen and – ‘oops’ experiment gone wrong ! This prime and paint idea sounds like the perfect solution.
Thank you for the opportunity of hoping.
Hello Diane, you are doing such a lovely job with your new to you lake house! I love following your progress. My husband and I are updating my in laws beach house. We have lots of cabinets to paint!! We certainly could use your advice
I’ve got 6 oak pressed back chairs and a headboard and footboard that all need some updating. This would be perfect!
It looks great! We just painted our wood trim and it brightened everything up.
I would update our kitchen. All I see is Oak!!
Diane!!! It looks fabulous!!!! What a transformation!! I love that you tackle these projects that daunting!!!
I just primed a rocking that was my Moms. It was brown and old! I wish I had known about COMPLETE!! Would have saved me a bunch of time!
In my Lakehouse I have ALL BROWN TRIM!
Like you, I would love for it to be white! So that is where the COMPLETE would work for me!
Enjoy your Lake!!
I
ALL of my trim needs to be redone. It’s blue and is the first thing you notice when walking into a room. That’s not what I’m going for. The Glidden Complete sounds perfect.
I have trim and more to paint.
I’m blown away with your post! I never knew you could actually paint stained wood trimmed windows! I thought the paint would seep into the glass or make the wood swell! I’m soooo going to copy you and do my stained windows! How exciting!
It’s impressive that the 70’s trim is still in such good shape! Looks beautiful! The white paint adds such a lift.
I also have window trim & baseboards that are brown. I would love to win to paint the window trim & baseboards.
I’d redo my kitchen cabinets.
Your painted trim looks so nice and bright! I would like to update my kitchen (pull off wallpaper and paint the trim). I know there are weird stains underneath the wallpaper. Complete may just make my life a lot easier! Thanks!
My little old farmhouse came with knotty pine doors and the primer I used still allows the knots to show through…ugh. Hopefully, I can get a redo! Also, I wonder how this would work on my kitchen cabinet? The idea wheel is starting to spin. ?
I have dark brown in every room of my house but kitchen snd bathroom are a detested yellow. Have been putting off painting because I want lighter colors on the walls. Thanks to you I know the solution! Love the white trim, which I do have but needs refreshing. I wanted to take my 1912 house back to it’s roots but the white trim stays.
Love how your house is looking. I would paint the stained ceiling in my den.
Your house is coming along so nicely and sooo fast wow! I have slowly been workingmy way thru ours and have hit the upastairs hallway, its red, a nice shade but still red so Complete sounds like the way to go. Look forward to your updates!
I have the same windows and I am changing my trim to white also. I have had an issue with the paint ( not Glidden) sticking to itself when I open my window and then peeling off.?. I prepped it properly and left the window open for a week to dry and it still happened. Have you had this problem? I am not sure what to do other than leave the window frame stained and only paint the trim white, which really isn’t the look I am going for. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I’d use it in my kitchen as that’s out central gathering point.
We also have a house that is filled with dark trim that speaks to it’s 1970’s age. We changed out the old hollow dark doors years ago, but never got around to tackling the trim. The thought of dealing with the tannins and dark bleed through always made us hesitate to begin tackling the project. Your review of this product gives me hope that the undertaking will not be as bad as we anticipated. Winning your contest would light a fire to get the project started even sooner than I had hoped, and if I am not the lucky winner, I at least know the first item that will go on the supply list. By the way, I absolutely love how your new home is evolving and the view from your windows is amazing!
I will be painting all the mounding in my house which was built by my dad in the late 50s.
I need to paint my brown windows white!
I need the Glidden Complete for my living room,dining room and entry!!! All one long rectangle with the yellow oak, shellac covered baseboards, crown moulding and there is a darker wood trim on all corners, plus MORE!!!
When I read the name of the paint I was fussing at myself immediately for already buying the Glidden Gripper and separate paint. I want this Complete now!
I have a bonus room that has a mini kitchen, and I am ready to take the walls and cabinets to white. White is many situations can sure make a room brighter, and would do so in this instance.
Your home is similar to mine. Complete sounds wonderful! I eagerly follow each of your projects.
Hey Diane,
I’m painting all my bedroom furniture from a dark brown to white, and am using an oil based primer and paint.
Oh my goodness the fumes are terrible. My hardware paint person said it was the best for doing furniture. But since you recommend this product, that does the same without the stink, I’m all for it. Even if I don’t win the free I think I’ll head to Wal Mart and give it a go.
Love, love, love the huge difference white paint made on your brown trim! Just beautiful!
After months and months of deliberation, it is time to paint my kitchen cabinets! An all-in-one product like Glidden would be perfect for this huge job!
Thanks for all the ways your blog inspires me!
I have been endlessly searching for someone who is working on a home like mine. Complete sounds wonderful! I look forward to following you many updates.
First, just want to say “Ta da!” and “Oooo la la!” regarding the beautiful look of your room! Painting trim is such a wonderful transformation in a room. You house is really taking shape. I love it all!
If Glidden would have had Complete when we still lived in our former home, I definitely would have painted all our trim….and the 1950’s house would have looked so much more updated. :-)
Hmmmm…where to use it if I win? Honestly I’m nearly done painting all our trim, don’t have any furniture pieces to paint…yet. But if I win, I’m going to get a thrift store piece of furniture to try it out on. It seems like it would be such a wonderful time saver for redoing that.
Keep your updates coming Diane. Loving your home’s new look!
I had all the trim in my house replaced with pine farmhouse trim. There are knots in the pine so was dreading having to prime and paint. This was so timely! Getting to cut out a step will make the painting go much faster.
I love all GLIDDEN products and glad to learn about Complete. I need to paint kitchen cabinets, so also interested in Gripper. I will check it out!
Wow! Just painting the trim white made such a difference. You always have ideas and new materials that all of us can do and easily use. Thanks, Diane.
Your room looks FANTASTIC!!!
Well done.
I would repaint my stair risers.
Love the transformation. Wish I was as good a painter as you. Can’t wait to see what you do with the rest of the room. My bedroom needs a makeover and this paint would certainly come in handy.
Love the transformation. We are adding a quilting studio to our home so the paint would be used there. Just have to choose the “perfect” color. :)
This post comes at the perfect timing. We’re buying a new house that I want to repaint to match our style. This paint will come in handy as we need to paint the whole house.
My kitchen is in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint! It’s amazing what a fresh coat can do!
My husband is in the process of fixing an old shed on our property for me to use as a gardening/potting shed. I would love to give the whole thing a coat of white paint to lighten it up (it’s bare wood inside).
We have been painting and revamping 2 bedrooms and one bathroom for awhile. There are many places where we could use this paint. Thank you for the chance to try this paint.
I need to paint a dark heavy bookcase/cabinet thing and a bathroom.
Looks great! I would use it to start changing my dark tan trim to white.
I have a mahogany veneered piece of furniture that needs a new color asap. I would love to try this on the tannin’s.
Oh boy do I ever have the projects for this product! Built ins in my dining room. Walls in my kitchen and bathroom. Old dark furniture projects. Fingers crossed!
Learning about this at the perfect time! I spent yesterday stripping wallpaper in our master bedroom (always the last room on the list, right?). This is exactly what I need to paint the walls, and I’m really excited that you highlighted this today!!
Very nice and fresh. I need to repaint white trim that most likely hasn’t been painted in about 30+ years.
I too have a house full of 1974 brown trim and I am slowly painting it all white. Struggling with tannin leaching, I could definitely use Complete in my hallway… Six doors with trim and a bifold door closet would all benefit!
Thanks for the heads up on this new product!
Thanks for your tips on painting brown wood baseboards & window framing! My home is filled with the exact same trim, which is looking old & dated. So, room by room, I’m ready to freshen my home up!
I’m planning to paint my maple bedroom furniture this year, so I’d love to try this product.
Just used Glidden in my cottage, love it!
gorgeous. Just used Glidden in my cottage!
My husband has an old piece of furniture in a very dark stain that I would love to make happy and bright to blend in better with our home.
I have two dark wood mantels I would love to update. Your house is coming along beautifully!
I’d love to paint my kitchen cabinets and trim.
My first thought was that I would use it on our shed, but I guess it is for interiors only. I would probably use it on a piece of inherited furniture to make it my own.
I have the same brown trim in my house. I’d really love to paint it white!!
I’ll use Complete in my kitchen.
It’s amazing what a difference the painted trim makes. Love it