Debate: Pine or poplar for painted trim work?

I've been using poplar for years but tried pine on my last bedroom set because of the price difference. The poplar took paint way smoother with less grain showing through. Anyone else found a clear winner here or is it just prep work?

1 comments

1 Comment

wadebailey2d ago

Stick with poplar for painted trim, you'll save yourself a lot of headache in the long run. Pine has that open grain that soaks up primer unevenly and you end up doing an extra coat or two to get it smooth. I learned the hard way on a whole house of baseboards that pine needs a good shellac-based primer first or the grain just keeps telegraphing through. Poplar costs a bit more but cuts the prep time in half and the final result looks like a professional did it.