Repainting skirting boards - undercoat needed?

Scottish_Icesaver

Hi any suggestions welcome.

I've just started repainting some fairly yellowed skirting boards (I guess they were last painted 10 - 15 years ago). The current paint layer is fairly thick.

I originally tried to 'prime' the surface using liquid sander but I've either got a bad batch or used it incorrectly as the new paint didn't bond at all. What I'm doing now is using coarse sandpaper, which is very effective and I can see that some of the wood is now exposed.

My question is can I paint directly on the surface (using regular water based gloss) or should I put a coat of undercoat/primer on first. Thanks for any suggestions.

ormus

you should really use a primer/undercoat first on bare wood.
i would have used a heat gun and burnt all the paint off.

ronaldmacdonald

If you have sanded back to bare wood I would prime and then paint.
If you have sanded to just rough up the existing paint then i wouldnt bother priming.

No way would I go back to bare wood if it was me, just sand enough to provide a nice even rough finish and then paint on your topcoat - why make uneccessary work?

Scottish_Icesaver

Thanks both for the comments. I'll ease off on the sandpapering to avoid needing moe undecoat then.:beer:

themanbearpig

There is no need to sand and prime/undercoat, unless its in bad condition and peeling. If the paint is sound, just wash it down with sugar soap so the new paint sticks, and that will be enough. No need to make extra work, oil painting is tedious enough.