Repainting Skirting Boards

kinger8938 · 3 Mar 2021 at 13:19

Hey all!

Never done this but ours are starting to look a little tatty so just wondering if there's any basic tips of what to do to prepare and paint skirtings?

Probably sounds very basic but always like to ask for some general tips so I know what to buy etc

Thanks!

Delvis · 3 Mar 2021 at 13:32

Sand em, definitely sand em

200sols · 3 Mar 2021 at 13:34

Lightly sand, tape up the floor and wall above and paint them. I like dulux satinwood, oil based but lovely finish far more forgiving than the quick drying stuff with regards to touchups, brushstrokes etc but the tradeoff is long drying time. If they have a flat profile you can use a foam roller, otherwise good quality brushes are a must.

andy_mk3 · 3 Mar 2021 at 13:35

Yes definitely buzz a sander over them to give the new paint something to key onto, as well as smoothing out anything there already.

Delvis · 3 Mar 2021 at 13:42

Personally, I'd recommend not glossing...Hate it with a passion

fobose · 3 Mar 2021 at 13:57

Good time to think about painting the ceiling and walls if you want to do your skirting too. If your carpets are old and you want to replace them anyway, cut about 2" of carpet away from the skirting board which will make sanding and painting them much easier. If you don't want to replace your carpets then as others have said, tape around the carpet - I tuck it down as far as possible with a wide blade putty knife.

I did my hall ways last year. although I cut the carpet away as I was replacing it, I also taped around the carpet to stop the loose fibers being picked up on the paint brush as I was painting. I thoroughly vacuumed before hand too.

lookitsjonno · 3 Mar 2021 at 14:40

Beware of oil based paint. Great when it comes to durability but bad when it comes to yellowing. Painted half of my house last year in Dulux Once Satinwood and less than a year later the whole lot is yellowing. I've started using Leyland Trade water based undercoat and satinwood from Screwfix which seems good so far.

NoobCannon · 3 Mar 2021 at 15:07

We had ours done in dulux diamond white water based as didn't want oil based paints in the house due to the fish and because it wont go yellow.

came out looking great

cheesyboy · 3 Mar 2021 at 15:09

Dulux trade diamond eggshell is my preference. I tried some slightly cheaper stuff (Valspar) on my most recent decorating job, but wasn't so keen on the finish.

fobose · 3 Mar 2021 at 15:21

I use dulux water based gloss now too due to the yellowing of the oil based.

You can see how bad some of the doors in my house were, where they don't get any sunlight. I've cut in with some dulux water based undercoat below (door was lightly sanded).