Painting help

[lollypoppy123]

I'm trying to paint our front door. The paint on the frame is quite loose and flakey in most places. I've been trying to strip it using a scraper (photo attached) but am losing the will. I naively thought this paint job would be finished in a couple of days but I'm three days in and am nowhere near finished prepping.

Do I really need to remove all the old paint from the frame or just the really loose stuff?

[lollypoppy123]

The photo....

[PigletJohn]

You are using a hot-air gun with the scraper, aren't you?

You will need a shave hook, not a flat scraper.

www.toolstation.com/shop/Painting+%26+Decorating/d150/Decorators+Tools/sd160/Professional+Shave+Hook/p81533

[lollypoppy123]

No. I'm just hacking with a wallpaper scraper. 😕

Do I really need the hot air gun? Will it make the job easier or the result better? Also, do I need to the whole thing or just the really loose stuff?

[PigletJohn]

Yes.

[FlamingoSnuffle]

Or an electric sander to remove the majority of the paint and lumpy bits. Do you know someone you can borrow one from?

And yes a hot air gun is also a great tool but if you aren't going to use one again, maybe getting a sander would be better. I have several sanders and I would suggest an orbital one for ease of control.

It is a pain in the arse but unless you start with a good foundation, you aren't going to be happy with the end result.

[lollypoppy123]

The truth hurts but thanks both of you.

[Wrinklytights]

Yes hot air gun. They're really not expensive. It took me weeks to strip my door and surround even using one (working around DCs) It's really, really wor th preparing properly before painting though. Makes all the difference between looking good or shoddy

[Qwebec]

Also a hot air gun is fun. Stripping passes from the worst job to the one DP and I place dibs on.

Rule 1 in DIY everything always takes longuer than you think. Estimate the time it will take you, multiply it by 2 or 3, same thing goes with costs.
Sometimes you get a happy suprise, but not often.