Oil based paint and water based paint

[ZACCCC]

I want to repaint doors, skirtingboards etc which were last painted 32 years ago. From what I've read, you can't repaint straight over OB paint with WB paint but I'm not actually sure whether the old paint is OB. Does anyone know if WB paint was around 32 years ago. Thanks.

 

[joe-90]

No, It'll be oil based.

 

[ZACCCC]

Thanks for the info.

 

[joe-90]

just sand it well and paint it. It's only fresh paint that is a problem.

 

[ZACCCC]

Thanks, but I've got the whole house to do and I can't face all that sanding so I was going to use Zinsser, which I understand can just go straight on and then you can put a WB silk on top.

 

[joe-90]

Not really. If it's been there for decades it'll be all rough and lumpy. Get a quarter sheet sander for £35 and make a proper job. Don't use silk whatever you do.

 

[ZACCCC]

Ok, perhaps I need to rethink that. But why not silk? Should it be one grade down from this i.e. Satin?

 

[joe-90]

Silk is an emulsion for walls. You want an acrylic satin.

 

[ZACCCC]

Ah ok, thanks for that.

 

[ZACCCC]

Following advice, I'm intending to prepare old paintwork by sanding it but, as I said previously, the paintwork is 32 years old so I'm just wondering if it'll be safe to sand it or whether it might contain lead, which I think was the case with paint from that era. Can anyone advise on this please?

 

[joe-90]

Any paint after the 60s only had small amounts. Just wear a mask.

 

[ZACCCC]

Ah ok, thanks for that info.

Btw, you advised a 1/4 sheet sander but I've read that a random orbital is more versatile. But is it that you think the 1/4 sheet would be more suitable for the job I'm doing? (The sanding I'll be doing will be mostly to provide a key but also to try to smooth out bits where the paintwork has been knocked by a chair or something and it's taken a lump of the paint off.)

 

[joe-90]

The thing I like about the 1/4 sheet is that it is square and goes into corners better than something that's round.

And you can use cheap roll sandpaper with it (get the best grade though).

 

[ZACCCC]

Thanks for that - I think that's the type I'll buy. It had occurred to me that that might be an advantage but then I read on one of the reviews of a 1/4 sheet sander (can't remember which one) that the guy had been using it to sand 'crevices' and had found that when he examined the edge of the rubber plate afterwards it had been partly worn down.

 

[joe-90]

They last pretty well. The paper rips before the rubber burns. They are brill for windows and trim.