Painting Over Paint - 3 Problems, 3 Solutions

When painting wood, the optimal situation is to paint primer on top of clean, bare wood, and then to lay down your paint on top of the primer. That's optimal; the world is not optimal. Paint chips and peels and fades, and before you know it, you need to put down a second, third, or fourth coat. Stripping off the original layers of paint is not usually an option.

So here are some tips on painting successive coats of paint:

1. Problem: Dirty surface. Answer: Don't use Pine-Sol or soap. Instead, use an ultra cheap powder found at any hardward store called TSP. Mix it with water, and wipe down with a sponge. Removing grease, dirt, and dust will do wonders to help paint stick to previous coats. TSP looks and sounds like wickedly toxic stuff; and yes, while you do want to take precautions, it's not the horrifying experience you might expect it to be. It's always good to have a box of TSP on hand.
2. Problem: Latex paint over oil-based paint. Answer: It can be done. When laying down latex over oil-based paint, make sure that you wipe down with TSP. Of course, any peeling paint needs to be stripped off, too.
3. Problem: Painting on a shiny surface. Answer: Use a fine sandpaper to scuff the surface. You will be using a sandpaper in the #180 to #100 range, and applying only minimal pressure while sanding (thought you'd like to hear that!).