Removing paint from skirting & coving

TKK

As the title suggests I'm looking for any tips on removing paint from skirting boards and coving as the previous owners of the house were somewhat less than careful when painting. Any ideas?

The Hill Billy

Do you want to remove splashes or strip the entire skirting/coving?
For stripping I'd suggest Nitromores.
Check the tin first to see if it is suitable for the surface that you're removing the paint from.

Always read the label.

TKK

Well it's a case that they never bothered with masking tape when painting so there's more than just splashes. Will Nitromors strip the varnish from the skirting too?

FrankGrimes

nitromors will strip everything.

if its big lumps of paint scrape them off, but to be honest best way to sort a messy paint job is to do it all again - this way you get the colour of your choice too.

Fingalian

On varnished or painted skirting boards I have used old green pot scourers (made from some sort of plastic) to clean off emulsion paint. The pot scourers are 'harder' than the emulsion paint but softer than varnish so they clean without wrecking the surface. I would not use them on ceiling coving though as the would probably scratch it. They are also great for cleaning paint off hardwood floors.

The Hill Billy

TKK wrote:

Will Nitromors strip the varnish from the skirting too?

There are specific Nitromors products for paint removal & varnish removal. Be sure to get the right one for the job you are doing.

The Hill Billy

I see that Nitromors have a "one-size-fits-all" solution:

Nitromors Superstrip is new technology - slow acting and deep penetrating, it is the safer way to remove paint and varnish as well as having less odour. Brush it on, then leave it for up to 24 hours while it quietly does its job before scraping away the softened layers.
(This contrasts with all other strippers that work fast and furiously, then quickly become inactive and may require further applications.)

There's also info here on the standard range:
http://www.makingdiyeasier.co.uk/nitromors/pvremovers.html

beolight

might be cheaper+easier definetely less messy option to remove existing skirting/architrave and replace with new

TKK

Well I do have to replace the skirting in one room...What sort of costs are skirting and architrave?

I'm thinking of giving the bottom edge of the coving a light sanding and then painting it in order to overcome the problem of paint everywhere. There are a few less than perfect fillings in the joints in the coving too so I do need to get the sandpaper out.

Wertz

For your woodwork: hot to very hot water, cloth/sponge, rub at the paint (I'm assuming it's emulsion)....hot water should soften it enough to remove it with a stiff scraper. Remove what's left with the green potscrub mentioned above. Sand the wood down with a light grade sanding pad and put a thinned out coat of varnish on it to freshen it up.

Coving: repaint. Mask up your walls if necessary. You'll likely need to do the whole thing as it'll be nearly impossible to get the actual match for the brand of white(?) used, so any touch-ups will stand out.

NUTLEY BOY

If the house is very old - say 1950s or before - be careful about stripping gloss paint back to bare wood as the older paints had LEAD in them and you may release a lot of it if you are doing a major renovation.