Painting doorframes

[Jwhb]

I need to paint doorframes in my new house. They're quite dented, and there's quite a lot of layers of paint on them.

Should I be removing the paint before repainting? Or just keying and priming?

It depends what you want from the end result. Part of the beauty of old houses is the lived in bashed about bits so I usually just key, fill any big holes, undercoat and paint. Dulux professional unde coat is really good stuff and covers a lot of minor imperfections.

For really fancy skirtings or doors with lots of molding which have been painted a lot of times it might be worth stripping the paint. I have used clingstrip previously from strippers of Sudbury on skirting boards and it worked brilliantly.

How old is the house?

As if it is very old be careful that stripping it you don't strip lead paint.

Not very old - 1970s. So lacks "old house" charm really - it just looks grubby and unloved! I'm aware there is a chance of lead paint but have tested and it seems ok.

Thanks for all the advice. I'll probably do a mixture as each door and frame seems different!