First Timer

[bigc23]

Hi all,

Just bought a house and first job on the list is strip dado rails and re paint the whole house. Never done DIY before but this is my first home so well up for it so this should be interesting.

I want to strip the dado rail as it's clearly been painted over so many times all the detail has been lost so i'd like to take it back to the wood and paint it.I've got some paint stripper, crevice tools and steel wool, along with some sand paper.

I'm not sure exactly what to do after i've stripped and sanded the Dado Rail in order to prep it for paint.

Also, will the paint stripper eat through masking tape and potentially strip the paint off the wall? If so, how do I prep the contaminated part of the wall for paint.

Thanks in advance and all advice is welcome

Many thanks

 

[dcdec]

Far easier to remove the dado, repair the wall with filler and install a new rail.

 

[Robbie uk]

Have to agree with Dec, Dado rail is quite cheap to buy. Trying to strip it will take ages and you might not get it clean enough to look good.

 

[bigc23]

Thanks for the advice but unfortunately with a lack of experience I'm worried that removing the dado will leave holes in the wall and with my limited experience that would be awful and i'd have to get someone in to fix the wall.

I'm not really sure how to fit a dado rail either and as a newbie it seems like a massive job to rip a dado off the wall, repair the damage and then put a new dado on.

Is it all that difficult? Obviously id rather replace it but i'm worried the amount of work and potential issues will cost me more time and money than just stripping the paint.

Many thanks

 

[Grenage]

I'm not really sure how to fit a dado rail either and as a newbie it seems like a massive job to rip a dado off the wall, repair the damage and then put a new dado on. Many thanks

It may seem that way, but I guarantee you'll think differently once you've been paint stripping for 10 hours. I had the same thought about skirting in our house.

"Lovely original skirting, sure would look good back to wood".

Bugger that for a game of soldiers ever again; it's all satinwood now.

Dado is pretty cheap, and any damage you do can be repaired with some filler and a sander - which is very quick work.

 

[honda]

I would think that most of the hole/s if any would cover with the new dado rails anyway.
Agree as above that stripping the old is a time consuming wearisome job,takes ages

 

[dcdec]

Remove rail.
Repair damage with a filler such as easifill, toupret or red devil.
Allow to dry.
Rub down.
Prime filler with water diluted emulsion by about 25%.
Ping a chalk line at the standard dado height all around the room.
Measure and cut dado with 45 degree mitre cuts into corners.
Gripfill or similar the back of rail and fit to your chalkline.
check with a spirit level.

Now thats how i'd do it and i'm rubbish with woodwork, others may have other techniques but i've done it like that in the past and its been fine, so being a rank amateur with woodwork like you, i'm sure if i can do it you can!