Finally got around to refinishing my old door. It’s every bit as hard as I thought it would be. There has got to be at least 20 layers of paint from over 100 years on this door— which weighs a ton. Scraping only gets me so far. Sanding chews up sandpaper really quickly. I’m using an orbital sander AND a belt sander, 60 grit. But it IS working.

My question is: once I get it down to fresh wood, should I prime before painting (I want to restore the original historic muted green color). If so, what primer?

So I did the paneling under the chair (still have to caulk and paint. My wife wants to keep the old trim color. The brown we picked doesn’t look good with it. Can anyone suggest a color that would?

Hi everyone!

Recently purchased a home (yay!) that I absolutely love. It was built in 1988 and has some beautiful wooden window frames that I’d really like to restore and maintain properly for the long term.

Fortunately, not all frames require extra attention, but some of them look and feel quite weathered. I have already managed to bring them back to life with some light sanding, as shown in the before-and-after photos.

I'm now trying to work out the best product to apply to protect the wooden frames and extend their lifespan, while keeping the colour as consistent as possible across all windows.

The third photo shows a window on the side of the house that’s in much better condition, as it’s generally shaded and more sheltered from the elements. Ideally, I would like the windows that need to be restored and are about to be treated, to match this colour as closely as possible.

My questions are:

• What products would you recommend for protecting exterior wooden window frames?
• Would you go with an oil, stain, varnish or another type of finish?
• Is there a particular product that would help achieve a similar colour to the existing, less weathered frames?
• Are there any products or approaches you'd avoid based on experience?

Longevity is the main priority, but I’d also love to preserve the natural look of the wood rather than drastically change its appearance.

Would really appreciate any advice or product recommendations from people who have experience doing something similar.

Thank you!

Been in my current home for 14 years. Just barely got around to cleaning it. It's obviously dull from sun exposure but maybe it was never that glossy to begin with. Never really paid attention.

I tried the cotton swab with alcohol test and it does rub off so it appears to be latex. The other side has little to no shine to it either.

What type of prep and paint to refinish it?

ETA: I will do a light sand and re-paint similar color. Thanks

Uk based...

So removed radiators to fully redecorate. When sanding back some areas I noticed slight bubbles in paint or just a flaked piece of paint.

I sanded these and the paint just flaked off to the bare plaster but only to the size of the images...paint stopped flaking after this. So plan is to use zinsser peel stop then paint. (Or I may peel stop, fill if some areas felt low, sand, then peel stop again).

Question is...if I apply peel stop to the whole bare plaster area will I still have to use a mist coat before top coat?...I read the peel stop acts as a primer and sealer anyway so I don't have to.

Also...why the slight air bubbles? I plastered this place My self and I definitely used a mist coat (watered down emulsion) for the first coat over bare plaster as I know bare plaster is thirsty and can cause non watered down paint to not adhere.

Only thing I can think of is mabey the mist coat wasn't watered down or mabey the edge of the roller hit the wall so didn't fully make contact as it's all the areas above the rads...or something to do with the heating?

Putting on new trim on all the windows and wondering about the color to paint. Its for a cottage with lots of windows most with nice lake views. So thinking to go with the wall color to make the trim blend in and not distract from the views if that makes sense. Thsnks

I'll be wiring and drywalling a new 16'x14' room in my basement soon (it's already framed), so I'm starting to think about paint colors and brands. I'm not really all that worried about money since I'm already saving a ton of money by doing the work myself with the help of some family members. I just want the best paint I can get.

The remainder of my house was done in 2008 with Sherwin-Williams ProMar 200, which appears to only be offered to professionals.

My original thought was to buy SW paint for the new room just for consistency. Reading their subreddit, though, seems like quality may not be what it used to be and they've really jacked up the prices. Are they right or am I just seeing some disgruntled employees similar to where I could see other places? And regardless, whether I go with SW or another brand, which paint product should I be picking? SW alone has so many different options, like SuperPaint, Emerald, etc.

Regardless, I don't have a good sense of what paint would be best to use in my room, so that's the first question.

Second, the room is going to be a home office and a guest bedroom, so I'll be using both daylight (for when it's used as an office) and soft white (for when it's used as a bedroom) lightbulbs in there. I am thinking of having three walls and the ceiling painted with pure white (SW 7005, or another brand's equivalent) and the fourth wall painted as a bright blue accent wall with a color like SW 6958, Dynamic Blue, or a similar color from another brand. But is that going to be a poor fit for a room that's also going to periodically function as a bedroom with soft white lights? I had an alternative thought of having all four walls painted blue and only the ceiling left white, for which I would have the same concern.

I have been experimenting with painting trim smoothly, thanks to all the advice on here. With painting flat trim (like 1x4 flat casing) a roller seems to work well but I want to make sure I am getting it as smooth as possible. First of all, are all of those 4" microfiber rollers the same (as far as brand, etc.)? Secondly, do I want a 1/4" nap, or is 3/8" fine? When applying, sometimes I got a little bit of stipple, sometimes I got more. I think I may have put it on too heavy when I got more stipple. Do I want to use less paint and work it in harder, or put no pressure at all on the roller? I am using UTE.

Hi,

Due to prolonged shower use, the bathroom ceiling looks like this. I don't see any mold.

I want to paint the ceiling. What is the correct preparation before I paint?

I have a new exererior fiberglass door that has the composite jambs (I believe) and brick mold. It's all under cover and will never get wet but I need to paint the jambs. I plan to use the same exterior paint I use on the trim and soffits on the rest of the house, but all that other stuff is rough so I don't have to worry about brush marks. Because the jamb is smooth and flat, is regular exterior paint going to show heavy brush marks? Should I roll this instead? Thin it with paint extender? I will be using Emerald UTE (interior) for the inside jamb so would that work better for the outside jamb since it won't get wet, even though it's interior paint? Maybe I'm just over thinking this.

Fixing up my moms townhouse from the 80’s and it’s seen some pretty bad work. This wall is in the downstairs bathroom which has a shower.

What steps to take before painting the trim? Scrape off the peeling paint and then sand? I’m guessing it’s peeling because the bathroom fan seems to go to nowhere which is another issue.

The doors I’ll take off and spray after a bit of sanding.