satinwood over gloss

[nicka1]

Complete muppet here...so sorry for what is probably a really obvious question...

After just buying a new house (credit crunch...what credit crunch? ) , we're going to paint the whole thing from top to bottom of its 3 stories, and are hoping to get this done before the new carpets go down. The doors throughout the property are satinwood, and look pretty good. The skirting/doorframes are glossed (and a bit faded). I'd quite like to replace the rest of the woodwork to match the doors, so, bearing in mind I want to get this completed asap:

Should I use oil or water based satinwood finish to go over the gloss?
What prep should I do?

My initial thoughts were sugar soap / sand to get the gloss shine off, then either undercoat (if using waterbased satinwood), or just put oil based satinwood on the sanded surface...but I'm no expert

Any advice much appreciated

 

[54aardvark]

My initial thoughts were sugar soap / sand to get the gloss shine off, then either undercoat (if using waterbased satinwood), or just put oil based satinwood on the sanded surface

Nae probs with your plan, personally I like to undercoat regardless, ensures a good key and flattens out your surface for a better finish. I would go for the oil-based top coat, acrylics are notoriously difficult to get an even finish if you haven't used them before as they tend to show up every brush mark and (particularly considering the acreage you have to cover) you rarely if ever get away with one coat - you could be looking at 2-3 to get the finish you want

I go for eggshell rather than satinwood wherever possible, IMO it goes on far better, dries hard very quickly, has less smell, better finish and is virtually identical to satinwood in appearance.

 

[54aardvark]

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

 

[nicka1]

Excellent - thanks for the advice, Aardvark...much appreciated

If I ever get any good at this malarkey, I'll try and return the favour (but dont hold your breath!)
Cheers
Nick