How do I paint Interior Wood?Updated 2 years ago
For painting interior wood, including skirting boards and doors, the steps to paint may vary depending on the condition of the surface prior to painting. Please see our guide below:
Prepare
Step 1
Remove hardware like handles and hinges. Put down dust sheets to protect other parts of the room as necessary.
Step 2
Clean the wooden surface We recommend using our cleaning agent Mallipesu, an alkaline solution that removes dirt, grease, oil and wax. Make sure to wash off any residue with water and a damp cloth afterwards
Prime
Step 3
When the surface is dry, sand them with fine paper (you can skip this step if you have melamine or high gloss surfaces.) Fill imperfections with a quality ready-mixed filler and sand again. Helmi Furniture Filler is great for filling in gaps on kitchen cabinets and cupboards as it's ready-mixed, easy to sand, dries white, and won't shrink or crack.
Step 4
Apply primer. The type of primer you should use will depend on the surface to be painted:
- Solid wood
A good quality indoor wood primer will work here. We recommend Helmi Wood Primer, a water-based, high-opacity acrylic primer.
- Previously painted wood
If your woodwork has previously been painted, there may not be a need for a new primer - just a very good sanding! Especially if your new colour choice is close to the existing shade. However, if the existing paint needs some TLC, we would recommend priming with Otex Akva before moving on to your topcoat.
- Veneer, laminate & tricky surfaces
A lot of store-bought surfaces are laminate, which can be shiny or have a matt finish, usually very smooth, and can be difficult to get paint to stick to. In this instance, we recommend using our adhesion-promoting primer, Otex Akva.
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Paint
Now for the fun part!
For this stage, we recommend using our Helmi water-based paint. It comes in three finishes to ensure you have the perfect finish, every time. We have Helmi 80 (gloss), Helmi 30 (satin), and Helmi 10 (matt).
Step 5
Apply your first coat of paint...
Step 6
Time for your second coat...
Step 7
When the second coat is completely dry.