I have a vestibule to the back of the house that is looking tired and dated. Various phone and security cables have ben painted over in the past and it just looks ****. I've started revamping/gutting it and instead of painting on top of existing paint, i plan to use a paint stripper to tidy things up. Am i better putting an undercoat on after stripping a lot of the rough paint off.
Can you post some photos? (Keep them under 2MP each) What wall finish is there under the paint - plaster or paper or what? Anyhoo, the thought of using paint stripper on walls is scary - that's a HUGE job. I'd have thought you'd get adequate - even similar - results from a rub down using ~300 grit sand paper and then emulsion.
It's all wood work, the walls are getting a different finish and wont be painted. The wood work is mostly door frames but have several layers of paint.
Most of the flat areas would be quicker using a hot air gun. Take precautions as that paint looks deffo to be old lead paint. If you take all the paint off you will be best to prime prior to undercoating, use oil based paints as you may get bleed through if you use acrylic primer undercoat.
Don't underestimate the work involved in removing all that woodwork paint. It's gonna be a 'mare, especially getting into the architrave grooves. Personally, I think I'd be looking to 'simply' sand it down until the raised paint ridges are flattened. A nice sharp-edged sanding block is good for crisping up all the steps in the door archi, and it just needs running up and down these grooves a few times to sharpen the profiles a bit - no need whatsoever to get down to the timber. I sometimes use a wood block that I've reduced one edge down to fractionally less than 90o just so's it 'gets right in there' and tidies up these corners. Start with a fairly coarse paper - around 180 grit - and use it lightly so's it doesn't leave too much damage, whilst still removing excess paint pretty quickly. Then move to ~ 300 grit to finish it off suitable for priming (as some wood is likely to be exposed). A couple of top coats of a good quality paint should see all that woodwork looking pretty darned good, I think. As with using hot-air, you'll also have risks (greater ones?) if sanding old lead paint. It's easy to get a tester, but be sure to test all the layers you expose. Your call, but I think removing all that paint will be a hellish job...
A lot of preparation work stripping right back, but the end results are worth the effort. Done work where we have only rubbed down the high spot spots,like DA suggests & then glossed up, only for the old finish to lift off in one or two places a few months late, resulting in completely have to strip the whole lot back to bare work & start again.
Fair do's - you ain't going to beat a complete strip-down and re-coating from bare wood up - the archi profiles will be that much sharper, the grooves that bit deeper and more defined. And, if there's any suggestion that the underlying paint is not adhered properly, you'd be nuts to apply further coats on top (statement of the bleedin' obvious, there, KIAB ) But, but, but... if a complete strip-down gives a 100% finish, then a basic sanding will give you - ooooh - 70%. And a more involved sanding will take that over 80%+. And only those who come in to that room specifically to admire your work at close quarters will actually notice the difference - everyone else will simply think "Ooh - it's looking nice in here" regardless of the pains you went to. Once you set down the road to stripping off the paint, you are - as Chris Rhea would say - on the road to hell... It'll all have to come off. Right into every little nook and cranny. The 'flat' top surface bits will be relatively easy and you will kid yourself into thinking you are making decent progress - but you'll soon realise you've been spending 10 minutes getting chust that tiny wee bit of paint out of that wee groove - and there's some still in there... Good luck, man - you're gonna need it
Do it properly from the start now, will make repainting in a few years time so much easier, surprise has much knocking a vestibule will take, especially a back door one.
I've bought one of these for sub £50 to save a bit of time, great for all the wee nooks and cranny's saves a wee bit of ball ache . Details This all-rounder combines 3-different types of sander in one handy unit: an orbital sander for large and level surfaces, an eccentric sander for domed surfaces and a delta sander for perimeter work. An integrated dust extraction system combined with the use of perforated sanding paper reduces dust and increases durability and gives improved results. A quick-fit fastening system allows the sanding paper to be changed quickly and easily. - Selection of sanding discs (eccentric, delta, rectangle) - Easy change disc - Electronic speed control - Adjustable second handle - Dust collection box with filter - Dust extraction adaptor - Sanding papers - Velcro fastening - Cable clip - Soft-grip Power: 280Watt Vibrations: 0-10,000 min-1 Sanding surface Eccentric sander: 125mm Sanding surface Orbital sander: 140 x 115mm Sanding surface Delta sander: 82 x 109 x 106mm Cable length: 3m
What my mate's wife calls "toolp0rn" wonder if there's a technical name for someone with a tool fetish?
Got 2 of them,bought the makita 110v when it first came out then bought the cordless version recently.Wife loves the cordless kit,saves her dragging the ****** about if she feels like doing anything and I'm not around.