How do you deal with multiple layers of paint?

I realize this is among the dumber of renovation questions, but — as we all know, many pre-war apartments in Brooklyn suffer from Too Much Paint syndrome. When attacking this situation (with the intention of repainting), what is it that a contractor will do — will they strip all the paint from moldings and woodwork, prior to repainting, or will they just chip away at it/sand it down and go from there? I’m wondering how intensive this process is.

slopette

in Painters and Painting & Stripping 12 years and 6 months ago

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empathie00 | 12 years and 6 months ago

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A good contractor will strip it and start clean, otherwise all you’re doing is adding to the TMP sydrome. It costs a fortune but if you’re patient, you can do it yourself – Rock Miracle works miracles…just get chemical resistant gloves and paint scrapers of several different sizes. I also use old newspaper to wipe the goop off the scraper blades as they fill up. Good luck!

josh | 12 years and 6 months ago

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I usualy note on my drawings to have the trim scraped down to the wood, but the GC often suggests replacing most of the molding (unless it is original and unique).  Tends to be faster and cheaper, in my experience at least.

rh | 12 years and 6 months ago

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Depends how intensive you want it to get. Obviously, the contractors who did the work beforehand didn’t bother getting rid of the paint and just painted over it, which is why it looks like that now. If you want to do it right, have them strip it down to the wood with either heat or chemicals. Plaster walls can be scraped down and then skimcoated to achieve a smooth look. In any case, keep in mind that there will be lead dust around the house and take precautions accordingly.

cate | 12 years and 6 months ago

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The standard approach is to prep the woodwork by sanding, filling in holes, etc., then paint over. If it’s really a gloppy mess and you want to sharpen the details, you would hire someone to strip the wood first.