How to paint woodwork

Video by Wickes. This walk-through is informed by the video "How to Paint a Room | Wickes" from the Wickes YouTube channel, which covers the full decorating process including cutting in around woodwork and getting clean edges. The section on brush technique and the order in which to tackle surfaces is worth watching before you start.

1. Clean and prepare the woodwork

New paint will not stick properly to greasy, dusty, or glossy woodwork. Wipe skirting boards and door frames down with a sugar soap solution and a cloth — you will be surprised how much grime comes off even in a room that looks clean. Let it dry fully before doing anything else.

If the existing paint is flaking or bubbling, scrape it back and sand the edges of the remaining paint until you cannot feel a ridge with your fingertip. Loose paint under a fresh coat will just lift the new paint with it inside a year. To be fair, this stage takes longer than most people expect, but it is what separates a finish that lasts from one that looks tired by next spring.

2. Fill any gaps, holes, and cracks

Use a flexible decorator's caulk to fill the gap between the skirting board and the wall, and between any architrave and the door lining. Caulk remains slightly flexible once dry, which means it moves with the timber rather than cracking as the house settles through the seasons. This matters in older East Kent properties where the walls are rarely perfectly flat or stable.

For nail holes and small dents in the timber itself, use a fine surface filler rather than caulk — caulk tends to shrink slightly on timber and can leave a small depression. Smooth it off flush, let it dry, and give it a very light sand. Do not skip this step thinking the paint will hide it — paint highlights imperfections rather than hiding them, especially in a sheen finish.

3. Sand back and prime bare or patched areas

Once filler is dry, give the whole surface a light sand with 120–150 grit paper to key the surface and knock back any nibs. Wipe the dust off with a slightly damp cloth before priming.

Any bare timber — from sanding back flaking paint or from fresh skirting — needs a coat of primer before the topcoat goes on. Water-based primers are fine for interior woodwork and dry quickly. Oil-based primers give a harder base but take longer to dry and smell considerably stronger. If the timber is particularly resinous or was previously stained, a shellac-based primer will stop bleed-through. Mind you, for most standard interior softwood skirting and door frames, a good quality water-based undercoat does the job perfectly well.

4. Choose the right paint for woodwork

Woodwork paint comes in several sheens — gloss, satin (sometimes called semi-gloss), and eggshell. Gloss is traditional and very durable, but shows every brush mark and any imperfection in the surface. Satin is a good middle ground: easy to work with, wipes clean, and looks smart without being too shiny. Eggshell is increasingly popular for a more modern, flat look but it is less tough and picks up marks more easily.

Water-based satinwood has largely taken over from oil-based gloss in most homes. It dries faster, cleans up with water, and is less yellowing over time. That said, if you are painting over an existing oil-based gloss, lightly sand and use a water-based primer first — applying water-based paint directly over glossy oil-based paint without preparation risks adhesion problems.

5. Apply the paint in thin, even coats

Load the brush, wipe off the excess on the rim of the tin, and work with the grain of the timber. Keep your strokes long and even, and always finish each section by brushing lightly along the full length in one direction — this is called laying off, and it smooths out the brush marks before the paint skins over.

Two thin coats will always look better than one thick one. A thick coat sags, drips, and takes an age to dry properly. On skirting boards, start at the top edge (the most visible line, so get that right first), work down the face, then do the bottom. Use a narrow cutting-in brush for the top edge against the wall — masking tape helps if you are not confident freehand, but with a little practice you can run a cleaner line without it. Let the first coat dry fully before applying the second.

6. Remove masking tape and touch in any misses

If you have used masking tape along the wall, peel it back at 45 degrees before the paint is fully hardened — if you wait until it has completely cured, it can pull the paint off with it. Pull slowly and steadily. If the tape has been on more than a day and the paint is fully set, score along the tape edge with a sharp craft knife first.

Stand back and check the work in different light — daylight and artificial light both catch things differently. Touch in any thin spots, holidays (missed patches), or edges. Woodwork paint typically reaches its final hardness after a few days, so try to avoid knocking or scrubbing it until it has had a chance to cure properly. It depends on the product, but most water-based satinwoods take around five to seven days to reach full hardness.

When to call a handyman

Call Richard if the existing woodwork is in a poor state — deeply scratched, multiple layers of paint building up a rough texture, or with significant gaps at the skirting joins — and needs proper preparation before decorating is worthwhile. Sometimes a fresh set of skirting boards or new architrave is more efficient than trying to restore very tired old timber. Richard can also handle the full job if you just want it done cleanly and quickly.