Lesson 11
Painting Woodwork
Paint doors, frames and skirting to a smooth finish: prepare, undercoat, lay off along the grain and catch runs before they set.
A door is a three-coat job
Priya's four-panel door is the first thing anyone sees in the room, and it shows every brush mark that runs across the grain.
Woodwork gets a system, not a coat. Wash and key the old paint (lesson 1). If the woodwork is original to a home built before the 1980s, don't sand it until the paint has been tested; see Lead, Asbestos and Old Paint. Prime any bare wood, with knotting solution on the knots first (lesson 8). An undercoat builds an even, opaque base; the top coat gives the finish and the toughness. Oil or water-based is your choice: lesson 6 covers what you gain and lose with each, and the top coat's tin says which undercoat it wants.
Fire doors: if a door has a self-closer, or strips and seals set into its edges or frame, treat it as a fire door. Don't paint over or remove its intumescent strips, smoke seals, signs or closer, and don't alter the door. If you're not sure, or the door is in a block of flats, ask the landlord or building manager before you paint it.