Help with removing paint and advice on painting.

crazyshady · 23 July 2017 at 7:10PM

Over the last few years we have had our house painted and repainted but it's only been recently that I've not been 100% happy with the results. For instance on the skirting and on some window sills the paint is no longer white but a cream colour. Around the windows of the house there are various splashes of paint not on the window but the wood around the window. Family members did this to help out and while the walls are good I can't help but notice these other things that really do annoy me and I want to fix them.

The first thing is removing the paint splashes on the windows, I don't know the correct word for it, it's not on the glass but on the wooden frame around the glass. I have a small metal scourer which has took some off when used vigorously but there are edges round the windows where they are not even. I don't know if it will be possible to fix that but do any of you know an easier way of removing the paint from the wood? The house has wooden doors and there is splashes of paint on the top edges obviously where the door has been closed while the paint was wet, would turps take that off?

I also want to redo the skirting boards myself. We had a dog previously and she used to stand on the window sill to look out the window and so the paint became cracked and it was hard to keep clean. Unfortunately we had to re home her recently and using sandpaper i completely sanded down the window sill as far as I could and using a tin of white gloss I started repainting and it looks really good. Unfortunately I got a bit ahead of myself and continued this and never sanded the other bits I painted such as the skirting round the doors and as less paint was in the tin the less I used and you can kind of see the cream coloured paint underneath a few patches. Is that a case of me not sanding it first or there not being a lot of paint left and should I have used a lot more paint when painting?

I am thinking of getting a small electric sander but would I be just as good using sand paper? I've never really painted before so I need to learn all of this. The big thing I want to do is redo the skirting boards as best I can and also remove the splashes of paint. That's the thing when you get people to do things for you isn't it? They never quite do as good as they would in their own home? They wouldn't have dripped paint everywhere on their own windows would they? I'm asking for advice and I'll probably end up making a mess of it myself but I want to try and do it properly.

exiled_red · 23 July 2017 at 10:20PM

If you are wanting to sand down the woodwork I would get an electric sander as that will make things much quicker, I would suggest getting one that can be used to get into corners (iron-shaped rather than round). Typically you will have to do multiple coats (letting the paint dry in between applying coats).

Removing splashes of paint from wooden window frames is more difficult it will depend on what the frames are coated in (are they painted, stained etc). You want to be careful not to bring this coating off or damage it when removing the splash. When painting next time wipe up any paint spills or splashes immediately (while they are still wet) as this means you shouldn't have this problem again.

crazyshady · 23 July 2017 at 10:55PM

Thank you for replying.

I'm not too sure what it is. I think they are stained. I do know for the paint from the walls that have splashed on, a little hot water and metal scourer removes them but the splashes of white paint, which is white gloss is not coming off as easy.

I will try and get an electric sander.

London50 · 23 July 2017 at 11:02PM

If you intend to re paint the woodwork gloss make sure you get a water based gloss not oil based as it will stay whiter much longer.
Preparation is the key to have a good finish and I agree with the other poster if you do not want to spend a lifetime sanding get an electric one as it will be a lot quicker and easier.

crazyshady · 23 July 2017 at 11:12PM

I'll keep an eye out for water based gloss as I think the one used before is oil based.

When I sanded down the window sills in the living room and painted them they looked really good and still do but when i'm doing along the floor and around the doors how will I know if I have done enough coats?

London50 · 23 July 2017 at 11:46PM

Two coats with a light sanding between will be enough to give a good smart finish if you prep is good

crazyshady · 23 July 2017 at 11:50PM

Thanks! I hope it goes well!

LandyAndy · 24 July 2017 at 11:24AM

Am I right that you didn't apply a fresh coat of undercoat when trying to over paint the old yellowing paint? You have to. You will never get decent coverage with gloss over gloss.

crazyshady · 24 July 2017 at 2:46PM

Yes unfortunately I did but there was not much paint left in the tin anyway so I didn't get far and I thought that might be why there's a few patches where you can see the yellowing paint underneath, I thought maybe I just wasn't using enough paint.

On the window sills I did sand, it took me a while using sandpaper to do it and I'm really happy with them but i thought the reason for that was because that was the first thing I did and maybe having more paint helped.

So it really is all in the preparation. So sand first, then undercoat, then paint?

Le_Kirk · 24 July 2017 at 3:27PM

crazyshady wrote: »

So it really is all in the preparation. So sand first, then undercoat, then paint?

It's almost as if you are an expert giving guidance. That is exactly right, the only step you've missed is wash down with sugar soap before and after sanding. Sugar soap kills the grease. Good luck and I hope you achieve a good finish.

Help with removing paint and advice on painting.

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