To fix peeling paint on wood trim, follow these steps:
- Prepare the space by placing drop cloths or newspaper to protect floors or furniture.
- Remove the peeling paint using a paint scraper, lightly scraping off any loose paint in the area.
- Sand any loose edges.
- Patch the affected area.
- Sand the joint compound.
- Apply new primer.
- Apply new paint.
A scraper is a great tool for saving time while removing paint drips from wood trim. It removes layers of paint without smearing excess paint around. The best way to fix peeling paint on wood trim is with peel stopping primer.
Step 1 involves using a scraper or 100-grit sandpaper to remove any loose, cracked, or peeling paint from the damaged area. Remove any dust or debris with a water-dampened rag. Step 2 involves using a putty knife to apply a coat of paint stripper and sand the trim for a smooth finish.
To strip years of paint from doors and expose the natural wood, use a paint stripper, a paint scraper or putty knife, steel wool, or other tools. If stubborn paint remains after several cycles of stripping and scraping, use a heat gun.
There are three common ways to strip paint from wood: heating, chemical stripping, or sanding. There are a few different products to choose from for each of these methods.
For hard-to-reach spots, fill a wallpaper steamer with water and let it heat up for about 15 minutes before getting to it. The best way to remove paint stripper is with a plastic or bladed paint scraper.
📹 How to Safely Strip Paint from Woodwork | Ask This Old House
Time: 12 hours Cost: $100 Skill Level: Beginner Tools List for Stripping Paint from Woodwork: Utility knife Plastic putty knife …
📹 How to Remove Peeling Paint | This Old House
Back at the Detroit house, Tom Silva works with the family to remove peeling paint. SUBSCRIBE to This Old House: …
in case anyone is wondering, this is Dumont Smart Strip Advanced. The main active ingredient in it is benzyl alcohol, that’s why it’s low VOC and it does indeed smell like almonds. You could buy benzyl alcohol directly if you need to do a lot, it would be less for a gallon than you pay for a quart of this, but wouldn’t have the gel texture (which comes from added kaolin clay). You should still wear gloves and P95 respirator, though it’s much less toxic than many other things. Low concentrations are even used in cosmetics and medications.
Hey guys. At 34 I just bought my first home. I grew up perusal you and it’s going to be an honor to use the lessons you have taught to fix up my old home. I hope this works on the plaster walls too. It’s like the place was rented out so there’s 13+ layers of paint not to imagine all the patched holes I can still see clearly.
I appreciate that the camera person zoomed in on the spot where he gouged the wood with the knife. Why wouldn’t he have cut into the paint in a less noticeable area? Keeping the original varnish might seem like a nice idea but it will look much better after it’s all stripped and a new varnish applied.
You guys did a good job explaining this alternative to the mess of stripping. Testing the pain for lead was good and informative. However, you really dropped the ball and didn’t answer one major question, “What if my paint comes out positive for lead”?, (such is my case)? What do I do and what are my alternatives? Obvious question, never addressed. So what do I do?
It looks like they are using one of the Dumond paint remover products. I recommend you go to Dumond’s website and carefully read all of the information about the products and which of their products you need. I read some of the information for Peel Away 1, which is used to remove lead paints. They say the ave time for it to work is 72 hours, and can take as long as 5-7 days before you can scrape and peel the paint away. Then you have to wash it and in some cases neutralize it. Then you need to wait for the wood to dry out. I just stripped some outside wood beams with a Cobra Speed Heater. It was not easy, but IMHO, way better than going this route. The devil is always in the details.
In the same boat, new house, beautiful 150+ year old hardwood trim and the previous owners just slathered it all with cheap ugly paint. (should be a crime) Been making slow work of if. I was hesitant to use nasty chemical based strippers around my family but seeing how crazy-fast the VOc free works, let’s just say I had already made the order half way through the article. Thanks for the useful tips as always~
@This Old House: A dust mask will not protect you from vapors. I don’t see any dust being produced, so what exactly are you trying to protect your “workers” from? It would probably be a good idea to put together an episode that helps to educate homeowners on how to stay safe, i.e., when to use an N95 mask, when to use a half mask respirator with an organic vapor cartridge, when nitrile gloves are necessary, etc…
If you’re going to use a Peel Away type product, you need to put on thicker than that. Don’t bother with a brush; use a thin plastic scraper and really glop in it, about a quarter inch thick on the curved molding and a little thinner on the flat parts. That way you’ll get the old vanish off, too. you can also do a second coat on the rounds of the molding…I’ve stripped thousands of linear feet of trim over two complete restorations…and have the scars on my psyche to prove it! However, it is the one area where, as a DIY’er, you can save a ton of money. No pro really wants to do it, for obvious reasons…. Yeah, I couldn’t believe he just carved right into that wood for the lead test. WHT?
Respirators shown here are worthless for chemical vapors in the air. The N95 shown is for PARTICULATES, like sawdust, pulverized paint, etc. It’s a moot point perhaps since the stripper is supposedly “zero VOC” but since this was presumably aired on television (or even if not) they should have researched this better. In fact no respiratory protection was most likely recommended, let alone required. Whoever does the research or fact-checking for this organization needs to do a better job. A bit ironic that the segment is titled how to SAFELY strip paint.
There is another method which is more gentle on the wood, fewer steps, and lets you paint immediately: Speedheater™Infrared Paint Remover’s infrared rays need to heat the paint only to 400-600℉ to separate all layers of paint & varnish from the wood. Regular heat guns heat it to 1000℉. With the Speedheater™ method there are no messy chemicals, no paper, no waiting time for it to work, and no extra step to neutralize or wash the surface. With chemical strippers, the wood soaks up the chemical and the water scrub. When woods gets wet, it must dry completely or new varnish or paint will fail. All that trim work is going to take many buckets of expensive chemicals.
Actually a heat gun works great if you teach the customer how to do it correctly, just like you taught her how to do the stripper method. You will need to sand the wood with either heat gun or stripper method which was not shown. So in reality, the heat gun method when done properly is faster and more cost effective. As a last little note, when doing a lead test, don’t cut into the wood where it is noticeable, cut into the side of the trim or down low near the baseboard.
It appears that you purposely hid the brand name and you’ve not responded to a question about the brand. Not sure why that is, but that’s your right. So how can I tell if a product is VOC? None of the products that I see on line make any reference to it at all. Some say that they don’t contain a certain chemical but unless the absence of that chemical is what makes it VOC, that doesn’t help me. I have no idea what to buy — and neither did the clerk at the local big box store.
I love how she wants the original varnish left on .. he proceeds to remove all of the paint and varnish from the wood that she now has to sand and stain and varnish . Not before he cuts a inch deep hole in the wood face at eye level with his knife LOL … I think her way was better to be honest .. she could have used his method to do the base boards but for visual stuff like the passage ways just do it the way she was .. wow this is the first article by “This Old House” that i’m shaking my head noooooo ….. wow !
Wow! Awesome article! I have a small office where the chair rail was recently painted over!!! And I hate it! Even though I am a novice at DIY projects, after perusal this article I am going to give it a try. However, I have one question. How long does the laminate paper need to stay on? Thanks in advance!
Is there an asbestos testing kit? I have kitchen floor tiles in my Gram’s house that I am working on. Although they are not original to the house as the all the flooring is hardwood. I do remember them being there back when I was a child. I am (cough, cough ) years old now. LOL anyway, they don’t fit the typical size shape or color of stereotypical asbestos tile but the square footage does exceed what a home owner can do themselves in Michigan (it a BIG house).
Multiple coats? Did he notice that she only had one coat on top of the varnish, and below the varnish, there is the wood. So while we all know about the 1978 lead rule, in this case, it is a no-brainer! Not to mention that he gouged the wooden board with his deep incision! It is clearly visible after all the paint was stripped off. And why do they wear those primitive masks? There is no dust, and if there are gases coming off that stripper, these masks are rather a bad idea! Some expert helper that is!
I have searched youtube endlessly and may have overlooked the answer to my dilemma. I do not have a heat gun or paint stripper. I must remove the chipped paint from the interior door frames and baseboards. The chipped paint reveals layers of paint underneath, and the previous owners of this Airbnb house painted the beautiful natural wood frame doors on the lower level brown. The doors, the door frame, the wood walls in the kitchen, and the window frames. Would you happen to know how I can fix this? I am doing this for a friend, so my option of what is available for me to use is a sander; however, I want to purchase whatever will give me excellent results. I am new to this and am very much enjoying and eager to learn. Would anyone be able to help would you happen to, me with their professional and or experienced advice? Please, thank you?
HERE’S WHY I DOWNVOTED: Sorry, TOH, but I have to call you on your BS for this one. Implying that this product works as well as you show after a coffee break (unless the break lasted a weekend) is very misleading. The product label itself states that it needs 3-24 hours. Inspired by this segment, I just used it on an exterior door that had 1 coat of primer and 2 of paint, and let it set up for 24 hours. It took a lot of scraping with a metal knife (plastic did nothing!), and it still didn’t all come up. I’m really disappointed that y’all weren’t really up front on this one.
I get they are going to repaint the wall a different color. But I need to strip kitchen cabinets in place, and the frames are up against a newly painted kitchen wall. I wanted to see how they protected the wall–what kind of tape works best, and they didn’t even talk about this, and at 6:38 you can see in the article that paint is still on those small edges. I’m having a hard time getting any info, so I guess I’ll ask at my hardware store what they suggest.
I want to strip the paint for my built-in shelves in my 1930s home. It only has maybe 4 coats of paint on them. Is there anything not quite as strong so I can keep the original varnish? If not, how do I match the color of the original varnish? The inside of the shelves have not been painted, and I’d like to keep it all matching.
Painters tape didn’t help me on the edges with this exact terrible “Smart strip” product on the paint and it was a disaster – painter tape doesn’t help – it got under the wall paint and drops of peeled paint which accidentally fell on the hardwood floor made the polyurethane finish to bulge. And the end result was terrible, produced lot of chemical smell. Ended up tearing down old trim and door and buying new, and as well repairing the wall and the floor coating!
Come on with the lead testing nonsense. All paints had lead before 1978. No need to test if you know the age of your home and see more than two coats on the wall or trim. Fastest way is to remove trim (if possible) and chemically dip it with a pro and your done. Then you can sand and repair outside for minimal dust and chemicals in the home.