repainting an old summerhouse

[wfrances]

hi all
advice needed , i have an old summerhouse which came with the house.
its sturdy ,watertight and insulated but looks very shabby.
when we first moved in dh painted it with homebase timbercare dark oak
as it looked like it needed something quick and that is the only thing we had .
roll on 4 years and we are doing the gardens ,sheds ects.
so the summerhouse is dark brown, we want to paint it white/pale colour, whats the best way to go about this?
do we need to strip off all colour? can we just paint over it?
do we have to seal it?best products to use ect..
any advice greatly appreciated.

[primallass]

Try googling Zinsser BIN. It would probably be a good primer to go over your wood stain. It is a damp proofing paint. Check that it can be used for that however.