Stripping your home of years of bad paint is the key to a professional new look

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Makeover programmes on television make repainting look easy. You just open a tin of paint in a garish colour that makes the home owner say, "Ooh, I never would have chosen that myself," (no neither would any of us), and then just slap it on.

If the wall's in good condition, then that's fine but chances are, a year after the cameras have gone, the wall won't be looking so pristine.

Painting over any surface isn't just an amateur habit, I watched a 'professional' painter slap white gloss on to a neighbour's windows, covering layers of flaking paint that had built up over years.

That was 10 months ago and it's all now falling off.

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Stripping off the old layers of paint takes ages so a painter may not do that job unless you specify it.

It is worth stripping off layers of old gloss paint on wooden surfaces such as bannisters, windows and doors (especially if yet another layer of paint means that the door won't close properly).The finish will be so much better and you will reveal the true lines of mouldings and edges, which will have been buried beneath many layers of paint over the years.

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There is no perfect way to strip paint. Many chemical strippers don't work very well and it takes a lot of stripper to clear the paint.

There are general-purpose chemical strippers but the most effective are those which are designed to remove certain products, such as varnish, water-based, or solvent-based paints.

You can even buy environmentally-friendly strippers. All That's Green sells a range called Home Strip which includes a Paint and Varnish Remover starting at £12.99 (half a litre), R-Tex, a textured coating remover, costing £38.99 for 2.5 litres, and a Brush Restorer for £11.50 for half a litre.

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Stripping with a heat gun subjects you to fumes (especially noxious lead ones in older paint) and is a slow process, which means that it will cost a lot to pay a builder to do it.

It is best done, by you, as an hour a week project over a few months!

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The easiest way to strip removable items such as doors, is to take them to someone who will dip them into caustic soda or potassium hydroxide for as little as £15 a door. This works wonders and removes everything (even glue, so beware of items such as wheelback chairs, as the back of the chair will come unstuck and may be a nightmare to repair).

The problem is that the chemical tends to cause the wood to split in places soon after it's been dipped.

To prevent this you need to ask at what time your item is being dipped, then collect it straightaway and rub it down with oil. (such as linseed, although in desperation I've used sunflower oil from the kitchen and this works too!)

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A spokesman for Paint Stripping Services at Harold's Cross Bridge, Dublin 8, says potassium hydroxide is kinder to wood than caustic soda.

If paint is really flaky you can remove it with a hook scraper (from DIY shops). I had one friend whose dad whiled away her childhood (and a fraction of mine) removing paint from furniture with a razor-blade.

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After stripping the wood, sand it down and fill in any holes with a wood-filler. Then paint on a primer, which is a special paint that seals the wood.

Then sand it again and put on an undercoat, sand again and put on a top coat, then one more sanding and the final coat. You should sand the wall after every coat.

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Satin and eggshell paints look better on wood than gloss which can look cheap although it does wear better and is more robust. Gloss paint surfaces have to be sanded to ensure that the new paint sticks to it properly.

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If you're repainting the exterior of windows and other woodwork it's worth asking about paints that may not be on the usual paint charts. Consider stains rather than paints, such as Dulux Wood Sheen, as these can be more flexible (they expand and contract with the wood) and so are less prone to splitting. Also ask about microporous paints which allow wood breathe better. Manufacturers include Sadolin and Dulux whose microporous brand is called Dulux Weathershield Exterior Gloss; this is sold in standard white (2.5 litres cost £18+VAT) but colours can be made up.

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Before painting any walls you need to make sure that they aren't damp. If they are you'll have to eliminate that problem first. Newly-plastered walls should be completely dry before painting and then primed with watered-down emulsion. Most plaster surfaces can be repaired unless they are in a really bad state - if that's the case you'll need to take all the old plaster off and start again.

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If most of the plasterwork is intact then you can cut out any imperfections, such as crumbling, bulging or hollow-sounding areas, and replaster these sections. Hair line cracks and small holes should be filled with a filler. This tends to shrink as it dries so push in generous quantities with a trowel and then sand down the newly filled area.

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Wallpaper will usually be sagging because of damp. Emulsion will just add to the damp (until it dries) making the problem worse. You can paint over wallpaper that's stuck to the wall properly, although you shouldn't paint over vinyl paper as it will be difficult to hide. If existing wallpaper has strong colours or metallic inks these may show through the paint.

CONTACT LIST

Paint Stripping Services, Harold's Cross Bridge, Dublin 8.

Tel: 01 453 22 06

All That's Green, 3D Kinsale Commercial Park, Kinsale, Co Cork.

Tel: 021 477 38 14; info@allthatsgreen.ie

Microporous paint brands, Contact Sadolin at 01 847 42 22 and Dulux at 01 455 60 99 for suppliers