Painting Q&A: preparation and removal

ARTICLE Bevan Tutty

Q:  

“Our old kitchen cupboards have veneer on them. Can you tell me how to prepare them for painting? Is there a special primer to use? We also want to remove flaky ceiling paint in our bathroom and get rid of peeling paint from our concrete porch – what is the best way of doing this?”

A: 

For your kitchen cupboards, first up it’s best to unscrew the handles then the hinges. Take the doors off and place them in a good work area. Clean the cupboards with sugar soap and once they’re dry sand them down with 220 grit sandpaper. If the cupboard doors are dented, cracked or split make sure you fill any of these imperfections with a suitable filler like Poly Mirror Finish and sand this smooth. It’s advisable to wear a dust mask to protect yourself from airborne debris. 
Apply Dulux 1step acrylic primer sealer and undercoat. It helps increase the life of your paint job and provides high opacity coverage for your top coat paint. Apply it with a good quality 7-9mm roller or a 75mm brush, and let it dry for at least two hours. Give it a final light sand with your 220 grit sand paper, then apply two coats of your top coat paint and let it dry fully. 
Dulux Aquanamel is becoming popular for areas that have traditionally been painted with solvent based enamels. It looks best if the cabinets are a higher shine than the walls. The higher the gloss the better wearing the surface. But high gloss will also show imperfections.
Removing flaky bathroom ceiling paint can be a labour-intensive job. Cover the floor with a cloth and scrape the flaking paint with a metal paint scraper. Place the paint scraper almost flat against the surface and push underneath the paint to lift it away. Remove as much paint as possible by scraping, then sand the whole surface with 120 grit sandpaper to remove any remaining loose paint. 
When the entire surface is smooth, you are ready to seal it. Try to keep the bathroom door open for two to three days prior to painting, to allow for a more level dry temperature in the room. You can then apply Dulux 1step acrylic primer sealer and undercoat, followed by your top coat paint (as for your kitchen cupboards). Dulux Wash and wear kitchen and bathroom paint has a low sheen and is moisture resistant, offering a seven-year guarantee against mould growth.
For your concrete porch, it’s best to remove as much of the old paint as possible with a coarse wire brush and paint scraper. 
You can also use a liquid paint stripper like Selley’s Kwik Strip. Then, thoroughly clean the concrete with sugar soap and leave it to dry for 24 hours. Vacuum to remove any dust. Apply one coat of Dulux water based AquaTread undercoat with a 75-100mm paintbrush. Let it dry for at least two hours before applying Dulux AquaTread top coat.

Here’s some advice on How to make dirty grout clean.

This article by Bevan Tutty featured on page 41 in Issue 03 of Renovate Magazine. Renovate Magazine is an easy to use resource providing fresh inspiration and motivation at every turn of the page.

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