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Sanding between paint layers? I call it a waste of hours.
In my experience, sanding between every coat of paint on trim just wastes time without much gain. Your mileage may vary, but I've finished hundreds of rooms without it and the results look fine. Keep this in mind, but I think we make simple steps too hard in this trade.
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vale196mo ago
According to a painter I know, he only sands if the previous coat has drips or dust. Modern paints are made to stick to each other without all that extra work... I've watched people sand for hours and see no real difference in the finish. The key is cleaning the surface well before the first coat and using a good brush. Skipping sanding between coats can cut project time in half for trim work. Most folks won't notice a perfect surface anyway once the room is furnished.
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troybell6mo ago
My friend skipped sanding between coats on his kitchen trim. The paint stuck fine and it saved him a whole weekend of work. Some extra steps just don't pay off in the real world.
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the_patricia6mo ago
Honestly, this debate pops up every time someone picks up a paintbrush. If your first coat went on smooth and dust-free, skipping the sanding between coats is perfectly reasonable. I've painted miles of trim without that step and it still looks great years later. Just be smart about it, because if you have drips or a rough spot, you'll regret not taking two minutes to sand it down. But for most kitchen trim, your friend saved himself a boring weekend for no real downside.
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