I took down the old wood trim in my half bath (it is an ugly bold blue color) Should I repaint it by first priming it or should I strip the paint off? Also, is a better solution to just buy new trim that is that other molding-type of updated material instead of wood? Thanks for the suggestion(s). And are there any ideas of a new trim color?! (The walls are pure white)

You can do any of those things. I probably would have painted it in place without removing it. However now that its off, you have other options.

Is the trim worth saving? Some older houses have classic trim with real character that is worth saving. This may include stripping to return it to natural, or just repainting without stripping or priming first.

Do you want it to match the rest of the house or are you OK with the bathroom being different? Do you have a mitre saw to cut the new trim? Would renailing the old stuff still look OK, or would it look old and splintered with nail holes and hammer dents in it?. these are all things to consider in your decision.

If you keep the old stuff, I would not strip or prime it. Just repaint unless you want to return to the original wood finish.

There's nothing wrong with white trim and white walls. I'm more of a 'put colour on the walls and leave the trim white' kind of guy. We typically use a semi gloss on the trim and then flat or eggshell walls. In a bathroom, you can add towels etc to add colour too.

If you keep the old stuff, I would not strip or prime it. Just repaint unless you want to return to the original wood finish.



Thanks for taking time to clear things up; however, since the trim is blue if I want to paint it a lighter color (such as white) wouldn't priming it be necessary to prevent the blue undercoat from showing through?
I took the trim off because I had to remove wallpaper and border paper from the walls and didn't want to have any left over pieces of it sticking out from under the trim

No - it might take a couple of coats, but it will cover fine.

You have to figure out if its oil based or latex paint first... because you can't paint a latex over an oil paint.
How can you tell if inside trim paint is oil base or latex? (http://www.house-painting-info.com/how-can-you-tell-if-inside-trim-paint-is-oil-base-or-latex.html)

All right, and thanks again, everything makes sense and the link was helpful (even though the previous homeowner left all his paint supplies behind so I can just read the labels, haha)
Most likely I'll go clean them and apply a few coats of white as you previously recommended.