I used to just slap paint over peeling trim, now I actually strip it first

For years I'd just grab a brush and paint right over flaking window trim in my 1920s bungalow in Portland. Looked fine for a few months, then the layers would bubble up and look worse than before. Last spring after three tries on the same window I finally borrowed a heat gun from my neighbor and stripped it all down to bare wood. Took a whole weekend for one window but the finish is still smooth six months later. Has anyone else found that the prep work saves you time in the long run, or am I just slow to learn?

2 comments

2 Comments

viola_ward17d ago

Last summer I skim coated my whole living room ceiling and it still cracks me up how smooth it stayed.

rubys8017d ago

Jumped on that same project last fall after watching a ton of videos. My ceiling had those awful popcorn texture from the 80s and I was scared of the mess scraping it off would make. The skim coat was actually way easier than I thought, just took forever waiting for each coat to dry in the humidity. Had to do three thin layers to get it mirror smooth but the payoff is huge when the sun hits it just right now. Did you tape off the whole room first or just go for it?