Replies

1. 
   paperhanger | Nov 25, 2005 11:43pm | #1

   1 sand entire area, dust

   2 prime with oilbase primer (KILZ)

   3 sand , dust, fill any voids, chalk.

   4 reprime filled areas

   5 finish with choice of top coats, 2 coats should do it, oil or water base. oil is king

2. 
   ClevelandEd | Nov 26, 2005 03:23am | #2

   I'll emphasize the sanding.

   If you don't care to go the thorough preparation route, at least do a light sanding.  This is to  take the gloss off of the varnish.   To prevent the paint from chipping off of the varnish later.

3. 
   Mooney | Nov 26, 2005 03:41am | #3

   They need to be stripped if you are proud of them. Not cool to paint over varnish as its a brittle substance and has miliions of tiny cracks in it when it gets that old. They just keep moving too. But if you are fixing up to sell sand away if its slick but I bet its not.

   Tim

    

4. 
   DonCanDo | Nov 26, 2005 03:22pm | #4

   my wife and i are refinishing some rooms. we want to paint our doors which were varnished 30 years ago. what is the recommended prep for such a job?

   I'll be painting kitchen cabinets soon so I checked this thread to see what others were saying.  My plan was to do what Paperhanger said (66320.2).

   I may use a can of spray primer for the cabinet doors since I will be removing them and they can be sprayed outside (weather permitting).  Spraying should go a bit faster than brushing.

   -Don

1. 
   zendo | Nov 26, 2005 03:38pm | #5

   Jim,

   Whoa.  What a job.  Let me see if I can successfully shorten it.

   First, sand to cut the film.  Get most of the shiny.   Vacuum with bristle head to remove as much of the dust as you can.  Next a chemical deglosser for any remaining gloss, this is just a wipe down process. 

   Sherwin Williams has a new latex "bonding primer"  that can be used on glass, and pvc... my guess is that varnish wont be a problem. 

   After that has dried well, sand with 150- 220 to knock down any high points, and paint within the week of the primer being applied.

   You will need 2 coats of finish just to solidify the color, but this route is about as long as it takes to do new doors.

   If you want the paint to look more like oil, add some floetrol to the paint, but be careful it will make the paint slick to work with... watch for runs.

   Both deglosser, and floetrol are at the paint store wear nitrile gloves (blue) for deglossing, and a solvent respirator would be smart.

   -zen

2. 
   paperhanger | Nov 27, 2005 01:01am | #6

   use the oil base primer, latex sucks for anything but walls and ceilings. use oil base for the finish. you can spray them and they will be as smooth as a baby's behind