What is the best way to strip paint off skirting boards to take them back to the original wood?

Question

I want to try and strip all the paint off so I can then stain and varnish the wood for a natural finish.

Answer 1

Use a heat gun to make the paint soft and blister so you can easily scrape it off. Use chemical paintstripper to get into the more awkward nooks and crannies and finally sand the skirtings down. I successfully did this on bannisters that had about 100 years of lumpy gloss paint on them and they came up like new.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I stripped the skirting boards and door architraves of a complete house once using a honeycomb wheel/disc and a 1/2" (13mm) electric drill with an extra handle attached. I carefully removed the boards and numbered them so they would go back in their original positions. I had to make up an arbour to hold the disc in the drill chuck. It was simply a 1/2" bolt and nut with two large washers holding the disc securely. Threaded rod with two nuts and washers can do the same thing. The disc is made from abrasive material and is open weaved like a honeycomb, hence the name. I think the trade name is Clean and Strip Discs. 3M brand is the better one as they don't leave black marks on the timber. They are 1/2" thick and about 6" in diamater. Available from most industrial type hardwares. They are not cheap, but do a great job. To get the best from them use only slight pressure and let the disc do the work. Too much pressure and they tend to cut into the timber. They strip the paint off in no time at all and the finished job - beautiful!

Answer 3

No easy way dude - what ever method you choose - it is going to to be a pain in bum. Points to note - Hot air gun is OK BUT - the smell of burning paint is choking at times AND - the old paint may contain lead. Second point - you will have to remove the carpet - so it doesn't catch fire. Paint stripping chemicals - can be good but takes 5 - 15 mins to saok thru the paint layers and it can dry out really quickly. Then there are the fumes from it and the fact that it can burn your skin - it is basically acid in gel form. It will take you the best part of a whole day to do that room properly. Alternatively - you can fill the holes or marks where the paint has chipped off - allow to dry and sand down all the boards and put a heavy undercoat and topcoat on. To be honest - I was in a similar situation many years ago and it trnd out cheaper to rip the skirting off and put new ones on. The choice I'm afraid is yours

Answer 4

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RE:
What is the best way to strip paint off skirting boards to take them back to the original wood?
I want to try and strip all the paint off so I can then stain and varnish the wood for a natural finish.

Answer 5

The best way is to use a heat gun and a shaving hook which has different edges to get into the shapes on the skirting boards. Once stripped down to the bare wood lots of sanding will be required to give it the final touch. On the sort of job the finish is dependent of the effort put in.

Answer 6

Almost impossible as there are probably many coats of paint and each one will need taking off before the next.
If you do get down to the last coat, this will be a primer which will probably have soaked into the timber.
Best thing, which could be cheaper and easier in the long run is to take off the old skirting board and replace with new. It is very easy.

Answer 7

There is a paint stripper solution you can buy, forgive me for not remembering the name of it, it will strip the paint right back to the wood with a few applications. Its really good. You just paint it on, leave it and then sand down, eventually you will get to the wood, it takes a while though depends on how any coats of gloss are on there..

Answer 8

Whatever you do don't use a sander........the paint will just clog up the sanding discs and the paint wont come off.
What you need is a paint stripper, you can hire them quite cheaply. It looks like a hairdryer, and works kinda on the same principle, it heats the paint up making it easier to peel/scrap it off.
Once the paint is off, then you'll need a sander to rub the wood work down.
Hope this helps.

Answer 9

I wouldn't even attempt it,you're better off just sanding them down so they're smooth,and then get paint and grain,it comes in all different colours pine beech etc,its a lot less work than stripping down to bear wood,and the end result looks very real,our kitchen cupboards are done in paint and grain,when i tell anyone they don't believe me.

Answer 10

You probably need to hire a sander to get the most effective results. Or just replace them.

Alternatively with doors you can get them acid dipped which takes them back to the original state. It's usually about £25 a door I think so not sure what it would be for skirting boards.