Gloss Painting help

sparky40

I am about to start painting my architraves and skirting boards and am looking a few hints and tips. I have been reading so many website but cannot seem to get a definitive answer on how to go about this.
The architraves have approx 3-4 layers of white gloss paint already on them and I am NOT stripping them back (due to too much hassle and again lack of knowledge/experience)
The whole house has been replastered so there are a few scratches/marks/remnants of cement/plaster around the frames and skirting.
I am basically looking for an idiots guide on how to do this properly and not mess it up too much.
How much sugar soap will I need and what is the best way to use it, do I need primer/undercoat and what is the difference? how many coats of said primer/undercoat will i need. Do you paint or roller gloss on?
As I said I am a complete newbie at this and have no clue on painting skirting or architraves. Give me a plain magnolia wall anyday!!1

Thanks in advance for your help/tips.

sparky

Mrs_Imp

We just sanded and painted with 2 coats of oil eggshell.

My big tip is to not keep working at it, just brush it on with confidence. If you realise you've missed a little bit and go back to it, it'll end up a mess because the paint has started to dry and you end up with really obvious brush marks. You can rectify any little bits you missed on your second coat.

I always worked backwards too. So I moved along the skirting a little bit, then painted back towards the bit I'd already done. I got fewer brush marks that way. I also used a really soft brush to minimise brush marks. I think the result is pretty good myself.

I'm sure there are some professional decorators on here who can give you loads of better advice tho.

WestonDave

I'm no professional but experience has taught me that

1. Water based quick drying gloss is pants - leaves brush marks because it dries so fast. My weapon of choice is Dulux Liquid Professional Gloss (although I understand trade gloss may be even better but a bit more expensive - with kids kicking bashing chunks out I have to repaint fairly often anyway).

2. Rollers for gloss are best left for doors where you have a big flat area. Get yourself a decent sized (1inch or more) quality brush that isn't going to drop hairs all over the place. Maybe surprisingly Tesco currently have a range that have proven to be reliable (bought one originally as I needed one quick and was impressed so got some more!).

I would go round with some sandpaper to get rid of all the plaster etc and to roughen up the surface. Then give is a go with some sugar soap to clean the muck off ready for painting. If its been painted before I'd then give it one coat of undercoat and maybe a couple of topcoats - if you are doing white you need to do more than one top coat as its very easy to miss bits with no colour to guide you.

I've tried tiny little brushes but find its actually easier to get a neat edge with a bigger one that you bend into the corner slightly and then run along in one straight run, rather than nibbling about with the little brush.