Best way to strip gloss off skirting boards/door frames

[Caprisunny]

When I moved into my house 4 years ago all the woodwork downstairs was painted dark grey. I have decorated the living room a few times since and glossed over them but it keeps peeling and yeh grey starts showing through again.

I know it’s going to take me ages, but I was going to try and strip the layers of white gloss I have put over them and the dark grey underneath.

What would be the best way to go about this?

Thank you

Following as I have a similar issue. My My gloss is peeling and I’m assuming it’s because I didn’t use a primer first (it was on wood, not previously painted). My plan was going to be to sand it smooth, prime and repaint but I’ll be interested to hear what the more knowledgeable suggest.

Sorry don't know but wonder the same.

I'd use paint stripper, and it should just scrape off. Just read the instructions carefully and make sure you wear gloves and keep windows etc open.

You can use a multi surface primer which will proser the surface and make it more adhesive.i have been using Owatrol for this for years. You have to get it mail order unless you are near a specialist shop.

you wipe it on, wait ( I think) 20 mins and wipe it off. It’s like magic.

I was thinking of sanding. But the door frames have quite a bit grooves on them. I feel likes it going to take ages to get between them all. So was hoping there was a better way.

Glad it’s not just me who is stumped by this. Quite tempted to pay someone to come in and do it 😂😂

Prépare thé surface 😡auto correct gone mad. But it really is called Owatrol.

I used a heat gun, was fun to use but you can scorch carpets if not careful. Was satisfying.

Nitramors will take it all off but it is quite toxic and there is still lots of scraping required once its done its thing.

You could either prime it properly and paint again or just remove and replace the skirting!

Thank you. Would I need to do it a few times to get through the layers? Or does it all come off?

Should I sand down where it’s peeled first?

New skirting boards has been a consideration. But I would also need to replace the door frames….which I imagine is a much bigger job?

Buy a heat gun. B and Q or Screwfix sell them. The heat softens the paint and then you scrape it off. I did a whole staircase.

Sand, prime base and top coat afterwards. Remember the finish is all in the preparation. Well worth the effort though mine still look fresh 8 yrs in.

Also, don't use gloss, it goes yellow with age. Use a Matt finish.

Oh never heard of using a heat gun. Does sound like fun 🤩

If it isn't flaking just sand lightly and prime, undercoat and gloss - though those rules might have changed with modern paint.
Or Zinsser paint covers and sticks to everything I believe - look at the website they have info on that. It is expensive.

@Jujubes5 thank you I will take a look.

@YoBeaches never occurred to me that you don’t need to use gloss. just normal matte paint?

Can you tell I am new to DIY 😂😂😂

Still use wood paint but they do all the finishes same as walls. I think in some rooms we did grey to match the walls and used matte, but anything white we either used matte or satin (I can't remember) finish so it wouldn't yellow. And it hasn't 8 yrs on.

Same on doors, windowsills, skirts, door frames.

Worth £50 on a heat gun in my personal experience!

Eggshell is the matt version, or satin is a bit shiny. Gloss is a bit dated I’d say.

Nitromors is rubbish nowdays. You can use a paste stuff called clingstrip. You slather it on and leave it for a few days and then the paint just scrapes off. Very easy to use and less work that a heat stripper.

@Caprisunny the paint stripper should work first time, but it depends on how many layers of paint you have, and which type of stripper you get. I tend to buy the less caustic stuff, because I have kids in the house; it will get a couple of layers off fairly easily. You do need to scrape it off quite quickly though, otherwise it sort of evaporates and the paint goes back to normal.

@Caprisunny Options available to you.

Overlay skirting boards that sit over your existing ones but are taller.

Pay someone to decorate so sand, prime, paint.

Remove the skirting and put new ones in. This depends on your DIY skills and whether you can do this without damaging your walls. I have done this, my house is 25 years old and you have to have the right tools and I can fill and repair wall damage to a very high level. I reused some skirting and it is far easier to prime and paint when it is flat on the floor rather than on the wall. I also installed new skirting too. Dh and I are very skilled at DIY though.

You can also do this with the door architraves. Lots of very helpful videos on Youtube of how to do this. It is where Dh and I learned a lot of skills from. But again, potential damage to the wall even when you cut through the caulk sealing the usual gap from the edge to the wall.

Do it yourself. You will need to sand any flaky paint otherwise it will look shit if you just try to paint over it. But you might get away with just sanding the flaky bits. A detail electric sander would be a good call. Best primer out there is hands down Zinsser BIN. The blue tin is water based the red tin is shellac based. If you are using a water based paint on top I would use the blue tin. Both are available from Screwfix (my first choice) or B&Q. The primer doesn't really require any sanding beforehand. Better to sand it but the thought of sanding an entire room skirting board, I would risk it.

Watch some UK videos on Youtube of people stripping paint using a paint gun or stripper which is not as good as it used to be due to VOCs being reduced in products. Then you can at least see what you might be letting yourself in for. As with anything, start in a place that will be covered by furniture etc so that you can practise without potentially having an eyesore to deal with.

https://www.zinsseruk.com/core/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Bulls-Eye-123.pdf

Agree with a fair few comments.

Good decorating finishes are indeed all in the prep. I use Zinsser primers everywhere now - they're expensive, but excellent. If you can sand the surface down so it is perfectly smooth, I'd do it this way and prime it as opposed to stripping it all back. Get a decent electric sander and wear a mask / properly ventilate.

Water-based gloss doesn't seem to yellow in my experience and it is far, far easier to wash those brushes at the end. Oil based paints have had to have their volatile chemicals reduced over the years and therefore yellowing is far more common in modern oil based paints.

Decorating is a bit of an art but it's one of those DIY jobs you can get pretty decent at. It's worth building your own skills, as the best decorators are very expensive, because they know their finishes are flawless.

Heat gun and a brand new scraper. Nitromors for any grooves that the heat gun couldn't get.

KlingStrip seems very popular among the renovators I follow on Instagram!

Nitromors used to be really good about 5 years ago. It then had all the chemical bad things (which actually made it super effective) removed to make it environmentally friendly so it’s now like water. I mean you can even spill it on your skin these days and not scream in pain. Paint Panther is much better - you can watch it crackle and lift the paint - as are the paint on, cover and peel off products which I think are called Peel-Tec.

You can use a heat gun but keep well ventilated or you’ll be setting off your smoke alarms with the build up of heat constantly.

You can also sand them, the lower the grit number the rougher it is so to quickly rip layers of thick paint off, go for a 40 or higher grit. Wear gloves or it’ll snag your skin up. Once you’ve removed the worst of the paint, move up to a slightly higher grit level. Always work along the grain of the wood so you don’t put scratches in to it. Once sanded, wipe down, when dry apply an undercoat and primer. This first coat will highlight any imperfections you need to correct with wood filler or another gentle sand so don’t beat yourself up if the first coat makes it look vaguely awful!

An easy DIY paint brush is the Harris Blade. Will give you a crisp cutting in edge and you can buy these in pretty much all DIY shops and B&M always has them as a multipack special offer.

OP, is it an old house? If the original paint is pre-1960s, there's a great chance it contains lead. You can get tester sticks from Amazon to check. If there is lead in the paint, don't sand it off or use a heat gun, this will release lead dust or fumes, which is not good for you as lead is toxic if inhaled or ingested. Use a chemical stripper and scrape - the paint will turn into a sludge, containing the lead, so it's safer.