Gloss Painting

• Skirting boards and architraves: The most common job, often alongside a room repaint.
• Doors and door frames: Panelled and flush doors, painted on both faces and edges where needed.
• Banisters, spindles, handrails and newel posts: Carefully cut in, as stairs take heavy wear.
• Window frames and window boards: Inside, and exterior frames, sills and front doors outside, in exterior-grade paint.
• Radiators and pipes: Painted in heat-resistant paint, with rust spots treated first.

1. 1

   Clean: grease and dirt washed off with sugar soap, because paint will not grip a greasy surface.

2. 2

   Sand: existing gloss is sanded to a dull key, and runs and drips from old coats are flattened.

3. 3

   Fill: dents and gaps in the wood are filled with wood filler and sanded smooth.

4. 4

   Caulk: the gap between the skirting or frame and the wall is filled with decorator's caulk, which can be painted. Silicone is never used here, because paint will not cover it. Silicone belongs around baths and worktops, as on our siliconing page.

5. 5

   Knot and prime: bare knots are sealed with knotting solution so resin does not bleed through, and bare wood is primed.

6. 6

   Dust off and protect: dust is removed, and floors and carpets are masked.

Usually, yes. Undercoat builds an even, opaque base, hides the old colour and helps the gloss flow and grip. A traditional system on bare wood is primer, undercoat, then one or two coats of gloss. You may be able to skip it when repainting sound gloss in the same colour, after sanding, if the paint manufacturer allows. Many water-based systems use a combined primer-undercoat. When changing colour, especially from dark to light, undercoat is always worth it.

Either works; it comes down to the look you want and the condition of the wood:

On older, dented woodwork, satinwood or eggshell is often the kinder choice, because high gloss highlights every imperfection.

Traditional oil-based gloss gives a hard, high-shine finish, but white oil-based paint yellows over time, especially away from daylight: behind doors, inside cupboards and on skirting behind furniture. Water-based gloss and satinwood stay white much longer, have less smell and dry faster.

To stop gloss turning yellow:

• Use water-based paint for white woodwork indoors.
• Keep the room ventilated and let daylight in where possible.
• Prepare properly when switching from oil to water-based paint: the old gloss is sanded and primed with a suitable primer so the new paint bonds.

In homes built before about 1960, the older layers of paint on doors, skirting and windows may contain lead. Lead paint is safe while it is sound and covered, but harmful as dust or fumes. We test suspect paintwork and never dry-sand or burn it off; instead we use wet abrading or chemical strippers. In period homes with original joinery and sash windows, see our period property restoration service.

Gloss can feel touch dry well before it is fully hard. Until it hardens, it marks and sticks easily, so we leave doors ajar and ask you not to push furniture against new skirting straight away. How quickly it hardens depends on the paint and the room's temperature and ventilation. If you want the wall behind a radiator painted too, the radiator can be taken off and refitted through our radiator maintenance and repair service.