Before I paint my Wooden Doors

leeegglestone

Ive successfully painted my living room which im proud of as its the first time I have ever painted and I had no help.

Next phase. I have my Skirting Boards and Wooden Doors to Paint.

I was wondering what to do to them in preparation.

The doors have lots of dirty marks on. Is it best for me to Wash them down and/or Sand them.
Washing them, would the microfibre clothes and some water be good ,enough(have pack of 4 of them all for diff surfaces and so dont know which id use anyway)

I bought a pack of sandpaper
P180
P120
P80
& think would probably need the p180(fine) to cover the doors as im not really strippping the paint off.

Any advice would be great thanks

I should also add I havea Tin of Non Drip Gloss which i think was going to use on Skirting Boards & also the Wood areas on the Stairs
& a Tin of Brilliant White Satin paint, for the doors

babe_ruth_3

I think sanding down should fetch off any dirty/grease marks, although as a precaution you could give them a wipe with 'stardrops first'. I don't think a microfibre cloth and water will get all the grease off.

Then wipe down with damp cloth to get off the loose dust and then paint.

Whether you use, gloss, silk, satin is very much up to your taste

leeegglestone

Should I stick with the Fine Sandpaper or higher ones ive got?

Cant find Star drops lol looked everywhere, Lidl, Instores etc.

babe_ruth_3

As regard sandpaper, it depends on what finish you want and how bad the doors are already painted. Start with the rough and finish with the smooth before wiping clean with a damp cloth.

You can get stardrops at most stores, morrisons, wilko, tesco etc (Not sure about foreign stores like lidl, netto etc)

There is another sort of stardrops with amonia in it, but can't remember the exact name of it.

There is a whole thread about it somewhere in here, on money saving old style I think.

Sheel

Sugar Soap is supposed to be good for cleaning paintwork

leeegglestone

ive looked for this too in the likes of Instore/Poundstretcher but no luck

John_3:16

Sand with sandpaper useing course to fine sandpaper. Wash with sugar soap you can get it from a DIY shop or painting shop. Masking tape any glass on doors and masking tape floor if you have to if not lift the carpet up before painting. Under coat if you need to. Gloss will not stick to gloss that well. The sanding smooths but also gives a key for the paint to stick.

nickj_2

always use an undercoat even if it is a " no undercoat required " paint it will only take a few minutes to do , but be a nightmare when you next paint as the gloss flakes off .

twobob_2

Sugar soap is cheap at wilkinsons, you can even buy in a mister bottle but you dont get as much for your money and I agree with nickj about the undercoat. With paints like Dulux 'once'. I think the word theyre looking for is twice.

charlie2309

im no expert just a single mum who loves to do a bit of diy, got a couple of tips for you

for a really smooth finish on the doors try a gloss roller its a mini sponge roller with a mini tray,much quicker than brushing too.

try to pour some gloss in a clean yoghurt pot or similar,its easier to hold as the tin will make your arms ache but especially when doing the skirting no matter how much you have hoovered that brush will find some dust from somewhere which you dont want to transfer into the rest of the tin of paint

when you have had enough for one day if you plan on finishing in the next day or 2 dont bother trying to clean all brushes etc just wrap in cling film or a carrier bag or 2 and they will stay fine for the next use

hope this helps im doing my own this week too,good luck x x

Lord_Gardener

Unless your wood surfaces are in a really dirty condition just use a drop of washing up liquid in hot water. This surfactant won't leave residues like sugar soap - carbonates, phosphates, silicates, etc. Allow to dry, gentle sand down, vacuum and then paint - a couple of thin coats to prevent sagging.