Varnishing Question

zonecrew

Hi

Complete novice here when it comes to varnishing

My skirting boards are beginning to look a bit shabby, i would like to paint them white but the mrs wants to re-varnish, obviously for the sake of peace i am going to re-varnish. lol

my question is...can i revarnish over old varnish? do i need to sand down prior? how many coats? and as i didnt varnish the exisiting boards how the heck do i know what to put on, there seems to be a load of different types in the shops.

thanks in advance!

keystone

No don't. Sand it right back and be absolutely certain there is zero dust on it when you revarnish. Two or three very thin coats and the job's a good 'un. What type? Well Ronnie Rustin's stuff is probably the bees knees but I've never had any problems with Wickes Professional.

Cheers

cyclonebri1

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
Got to get these glasses changed, read that as "vanishing question"

surprised when it was still here.

I don't thing you need to make to much of a job of sanding it back, yes, you need to get it down to matt to give a key, but if it is adhered properly then I wouldn't do any more than that.

Add plenty of sugar soap or similar to the mix, ie, wet sand, that will aid adhesion.

I rate wikes paints and varnishes too, but prefer products from sikkens.
I personally would avoid any varnish that is water based for hard wearing areas such as this.

zonecrew

Thanks for the replies

Sounds like its going to be a bigger job than i thought:undecided

The skirting board is curved so i'm thinking sandpaper will be best? Might take a lot longer though?

cyclonebri1 can you elaborate about the sugar soap a bit, do you mean i should apply prior to sanding?

cyclonebri1

zonecrew wrote: »

Thanks for the replies

Sounds like its going to be a bigger job than i thought:undecided

The skirting board is curved so i'm thinking sandpaper will be best? Might take a lot longer though?

cyclonebri1 can you elaborate about the sugar soap a bit, do you mean i should apply prior to sanding?

Sugar soap is a gritty powder, has borax or similar in it.
It's basically a scrubbing soap you would use with a cloth or pad.

It removes any grease and grime that have collected from spillages, pets and kids etc.
If you use a wet and dry abrasive or the waterproof type flexible sanding pads, you use these dipped in tepid water.
I would add the sugar soap or simply fairy liquid to this water.