Dado Rails

leeegglestone

Im my living room I have a Dado rail going all the way around.

On it there is bits of paint from myself recently, but also from whoever painted it last. How should I remove this Paint?

I thought maybe sandpaper but when i tried a little area, it took off some of the wooden area.

I am going to Paint/Varnish it and so need some advice on that too, its all new to me. The present colour matches my Fireplace so I will need to keep it the same.

Lee

HugoSP

If you're going to paint it then you won't need to remove the paint, but just rub it down to give you a good key.

fine sandpaper, maybe followed by sugar soap then another rub down , then undercoat and gloss may be your best route.

If you want to varnish it then you can strip it with Nitromorse or similar.

mattogier

You are likely to remove the existing finish whatever you use to remove the spots of paint - due to the complex curve finish to the rail (I assume) your best bet is to get some fine/very fine (000 or 0000) wire wool (which wil mould to the mould and stop you flatting off the wood) with a drop of white spirit to lubricate and soften the paint and "clean" the whole lot before painiting - or just polishing with some oil or wax if it is real and decent wood.

leeegglestone

Heres a pic of the fireplace and also of the Dado Rail so you can see what colour it is.

Yea the dado rail is curved and has various grooves, so definitely not an even surface.

Any recommendations? should I buy some varnish or paint. i have no idea on the types.

mattogier

It depends on how much time you want / have to spend on the job.

If you are serous you can spend a lot of time using wire wool to clean and refresh ALL the wood and then give it a wax or oil finish to really bring out the natural beauty of the wood.

I would avoid caustic strippers (there's a joke in there somewhere) as they are harsh on the environment and the wood.

If you are short of time then clean and key ALL the woodwork and paint / varnish it all to a colour of your choice.

leeegglestone

use the wire wool to clean & key all the woodwork?

mattogier

leeegglestone wrote:

use the wire wool to clean & key all the woodwork?

Clean - remove any thing that will prevent the varnish / paint from sticking to the woodwork (grease, wax, dirt, nicotine etc)

Key - lots of small scratches (made by sandpaper or wire wool) making a rough surface (relatively speaking) that will look matte or dull rather than polished that the paint or varnish will stick to properly.

I hope that helps?