North Leeds Plumbing & Heating – Home Improvement and DIY Advice

If you just want to get down to a natural wood surface and dispose of old, dowdy, flaking colours, on woodwork before painting and decorating, stripping the old stuff off is where you need to begin. Preserving original wooden features can be an important aspect of property development, especially in an older building, where architects will often seek to conserve authentic features in their designs. This is a DIY job that just requires a little care and patience.

Start with a paint stripper, pouring a little at a time into the plastic lid and using it as you go. Use an old paintbrush for this, dappling the stripper carefully over the paint. And don’t forget safety – wear goggles, gloves, protective overalls, and keep the room well ventilated. Allow enough time for the chemical to act on the paint (keep testing it every so often) – when you can easily strip away the surface layers, it’s time to start scraping. For intricate features like mouldings, stair spindles, hand- or dado-rails, you’ll either need wire wool or a specially shaped scraping tool. Work with the grain of the wood.

Use white spirit or plenty of warm water once you’ve exposed the wood – you need to neutralise the stripper. Leave for 24 hours, and re-paint. You can use a heat gun if you prefer, but confine it to large, flat areas (you can easily end up scorching intricate mouldings). Keep the nozzle moving from side to side slowly, and hold it about 50mm from the paint whist scraping.