How to remove paint from timber skirting and trims and reapply new paint?

kaushiktilwa

Hi!

I am doing DIY renovations and want to strip the skirtings and apply fresh paint. How should I do this? Which paint stipper should I use? 

The trims, door frames, doors, and wardrobe doors are timber, and I guess they are varnished. Can I apply primer and paint to them, or do I need to do any prep work before painting? What is the ideal way to paint them? Should I use varnish, oil, or paint? Thanks for the guidance. 

Regards,

Kaushik.

EricL

Hello @kaushiktilwa 

This is a popular topic in the community, and I suggest having a quick look at our best advice - How do you paint skirting boards? 

The general steps are to sand the surface of the skirting board to remove the paint that is currently on it. You can use a chemical stripper such as Poly 1L Polystrippa Paint Stripper - 1L, but you will still need to sand the surface of the skirting board to remove the residual paint that the stripper does not remove. Once the surface is totally sanded down you need to remove the sanding dust with a clean rag along with a vacuum cleaner with a soft brush attachment.

Once the surface is clean of sanding dust you can then paint it with a primer such as Zinsser 1L White Bulls Eye Primer Undercoat Sealer And Stain Blocker or Dulux 1Step Prep Primer, Sealer & Undercoat 4L. For the top coat I recommend Dulux 4L Aquanamel Semi Gloss White Enamel Paint - 4L tinted to your choice of colour. If you are thinking of stain and varnish, I suggest visiting your local store and looking at the stain and varnish sample board so that you can see what they look like when applied to timber.

Here are some handy step by step guides: 

• How To Restore Furniture
   
• How To Paint Over Varnished Timber 
   
• How to Paint Trims 

Here are some handy discussions that will help:

• Solved: How to paint a skirting board? by @firsthome2022 
   
• How to paint skirting boards? by @Shane 
   
• How to sand and paint skirting board? by @katherinechan 
   
• How to paint over varnished skirting board by @Geoff6 
   
• What paint is recommended for skirting board by @MarleyJ_Aus 
   
• How to paint skirting boards before install by @mmryan 
   
• How to prepare skirting boards for repainting by @wilkos 

Please remember to wear personal protection such as gloves, goggles and a mask.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric