How To Paint Over Gloss Skirting

Painting over gloss is a great way to bring some new life into your worn out skirting boards. If you have never painted over gloss skirting, there are some things that need to be done before you can get that glossy look on your boards.

Gloss paint is renowned for not only being shiny, but also hard-wearing, making it great for bare wood surfaces such as skirting and doors. Before you apply paint to your existing skirting boards, it’s important to note that you should never paint over glossy surfaces as it won’t stick to the skirting.  

At Skirting 4 U, we understand the importance of making your skirting boards look incredible around your home. This is why we’ve put this guide together to help you understand how to paint over gloss skirting boards properly.

Can you paint over gloss skirting boards?

While painting over gloss skirting boards is possible, we recommend not doing this as it doesn’t provide good adhesion to the skirting’s surface. It means that the newly painted gloss surface will end up chipping after a few days, leaving you once again with tired and worn out skirting boards. 

Before painting the skirting boards, you should clean it with sugar soap first and then sand it with a fine grit sandpaper. By doing this, it’ll provide the correct surface for the paint to stick to the skirting. It means that when you are painting your skirting, you’ll have nice smooth lines that’ll give it a stunning finish to any room in your home.

Whether you are experienced or new to painting over gloss skirting, we have four steps to help you with this process.

Prepare the area before painting over skirting

Preparation is a key part of painting over your gloss skirting boards. It’s worth moving any furniture that may be blocking the skirting, as well as putting down dust sheets to avoid any paint landing on the floor.

When you start to paint your skirting, you should make sure that the room is well-ventilated. If you are painting around light switches, then it’s a good idea to use decorator’s tape. By doing this, it means that the gloss paint does not end up on your carpet or your wall.

It means that when you are painting your skirting, you’ll have nice smooth lines that’ll give it a stunning finish to any room in your home.

Clean and sand the skirting boards

Cleaning and sanding your skirting boards are two important steps that need to be done before you paint the skirting. Overtime, dirt and grease can build up on your skirting, which is what happens when you’ve not cleaned or painted your skirting for a considerable amount of time.

Before you sand the skirting, you should give your dirt or grease-ridden boards a thorough clean with sugar soap and a new cloth. If there are any cracks in the skirting’s surface, you should fill them with wood filler and leave it to dry off. Once the skirting has dried off, you can start the process of sanding the boards.

When it comes to sanding the skirting, the goal is to take the very top coat of paint off the boards. If you have used wood filler, you should rub it down with a 120-grit sandpaper, before sanding the skirting boards with a 180-grit sandpaper. 

Once the gloss surface has been sanded off, wipe the dust off with a damp cloth and leave it to dry.

Paint an undercoat first 

If you are painting your skirting with gloss paint, you’ll need to have painted at least one coat of an undercoat to the surface. It’s worth using between a two or three-inch brush with horizontal strokes to apply that layer of paint to the skirting. 

Once you’ve painted the undercoat, you should leave it to dry. It takes typically around one to two hours for the undercoat to dry. If you want to apply a second undercoat, you should paint the skirting again and then leave the skirting to dry for a similar amount of time to the first undercoat.

Apply the top coat for a gloss finish

Once the undercoats have dried off, you can then apply the top coat to the skirting. This is dependent on the type of paint you want to apply to the boards, whether that is gloss, eggshell or satin. You also need to decide in advance the colour you want to use to paint your skirting so that it fits the home interior you are trying to achieve. 

While one coat should be enough, you may want to include a second top coat to the skirting. After you’ve painted the first coat of gloss to the skirting, you will need to leave it for 24 hours for it to completely dry before you can add the final top coat of gloss paint. Once the second top coat has dried completely, your repainted gloss skirting boards will look as good as new.

We hope this guide to how to paint over gloss skirting will help you when it comes to painting over your skirting boards. If you have any questions about repainting your MDF, oak or pine skirting with gloss or satin paint, you can speak to one of our expert sales team members today.