How to Paint Skirting Boards, Woodwork and Radiators

The finish on woodwork and radiators depends almost entirely on cleaning, keying and choosing the right paint - the brushwork comes last. Clean off grease, sand old gloss so the new coat can grip, fill and caulk the gaps, then apply thin coats along the grain.

This guide from PDS Painting Birmingham sets out the order our decorators follow on skirting boards, architraves, doors, banisters and radiators. Jump to the part you need:

• Skirting boards and woodwork
• Radiators
• Common mistakes

What You Need

• Sugar soap or a degreaser, a bucket and sponges
• Fine-grit sanding pads or paper (around 180-240 grit) and a damp cloth
• Wood filler and a flexible filling knife
• Decorator’s caulk and a caulking gun
• Low-tack masking tape, or a paint shield for skirting
• Dust sheets for the floor
• A good synthetic brush (1.5-2 inch for most woodwork), plus a mini roller for flat door faces
• Knotting solution, primer and undercoat for bare or colour-changed wood
• A woodwork topcoat in satin, eggshell or gloss
• For radiators: a paint the manufacturer states is suitable for radiators, and a metal primer for rust spots

How to Paint Skirting Boards and Woodwork

This is the sequence we use on skirting boards, architraves, door frames and window boards. Most of the time goes into steps 1 to 5, and that’s where a durable finish comes from.

1. Vacuum and clean. Vacuum along the top of the skirting and the floor edge, then wash everything with sugar soap and rinse. Handrails, door edges and anything near a kitchen need a proper degrease - paint won’t stick to hand grease.
2. Fill dents and sand flush. Fill knocks and nail holes with wood filler, slightly proud of the surface. Once hard, sand it flush so it disappears under the paint.
3. Key the old paint. Sand existing gloss or satin with a fine abrasive until the shine has gone and the surface feels uniformly dull. Wipe off the dust with a damp cloth and let it dry.
4. Caulk the gaps. Run a thin bead of decorator’s caulk along the gap at the top of the skirting and around architraves where they meet the wall. Smooth it with a wet finger and let it set. This single step makes a room look professionally finished.
5. Prime and undercoat. Seal any knots with knotting solution, prime bare wood, and use an undercoat if you’re changing colour or covering a dark one.
6. Protect the floor. Tape along the floor edge or use a paint shield as you go. Lay dust sheets beneath doors and frames.
7. Paint along the grain. Load the brush to about a third of the bristle length. Cut in the top edge of the skirting first, then paint the face in long strokes along its length. Finish each section with light “laying off” strokes - the tip of an almost-empty brush drawn gently along the grain - to remove brush marks.
8. Second coat. Apply the next coat once the first has reached its recoat time. Check our guide on how long to leave between coats and the tin, then lightly de-nib with fine abrasive before the final coat if there’s any grit.

For the line where skirting meets the wall, you rarely need tape. Load the brush lightly, press it so the bristles fan into a fine edge, and draw it along steadily just below the wall line, a brush-length at a time. Keep your wrist still and move your arm. It feels slow at first, but a cut line done freehand with a good brush is cleaner than tape, which can let paint creep underneath on textured walls.

Painting Skirting Boards With Carpet Down

Push the carpet down and away from the skirting with a wide filling knife, then hold it there with wide masking tape pressed onto the pile, or work along with a paint shield. Use a slightly drier brush along the bottom edge so paint doesn’t wick into the fibres. Peel the tape off once the paint is touch dry but before it hardens fully, pulling it away from the painted edge.

Doors, Frames and Banisters

Paint frames and architraves from the top down: the head first, then each side. On a panelled door, the order is panels first, then the horizontal rails, then the vertical stiles, finishing with the edges. Our timber door painting page covers what’s involved when you’d rather have doors done for you.

For banisters, paint one spindle at a time, working from the top down and going all the way round each one before moving on. Check below for runs as you go - spindles collect drips at every curve.

Water-Based or Oil-Based for Woodwork?

Water-based satin and eggshell dry quickly, have less smell than oil-based paints, clean up with water and stay white. They’re our usual choice for interior woodwork today. Oil-based gloss gives a very hard, traditional finish but yellows over time indoors, especially away from daylight, and needs white spirit to clean brushes.

If your woodwork has old oil-based paint and you want to switch to water-based, clean it, sand to a dull key and use a primer the manufacturer says is suitable over oil-based paint first. For the full comparison, see water-based vs oil-based paint compared.

How to Paint a Radiator

Radiators need a different approach from woodwork: the paint has to cope with heat, and the metal has to be clean and rust-free.

1. Turn the heating off. Let the radiator go completely cold. Paint on a warm radiator dries too fast, drags and shows every brush stroke.
2. Protect the floor and wall. Lay a dust sheet underneath and slip card or a sheet behind the radiator to catch drips.
3. Wash it. Vacuum dust from the fins and gaps, then wash with sugar soap and rinse. Radiators collect a surprising amount of grime.
4. Sand and treat rust. Sand lightly to key the old paint. Take any rust spots back to bright metal and spot-prime them with a metal primer.
5. Use radiator-rated paint. Choose a paint the manufacturer states is suitable for radiators. Ordinary emulsion isn’t made for heat.
6. Apply thin coats. Use a brush or a mini roller, working from top to bottom and following the panel lines. Two thin coats look far better than one heavy coat, which will run down the grooves.
7. Let it harden. Leave the paint for the time on the tin before turning the heating back on - hardened, not just touch dry.

Don’t paint over thermostatic valve heads, bleed valves or the threads of the valve nuts - they need to turn, and paint can seize them. Mask them or work carefully around them. Column radiators take longer than flat panels because every column has four faces; a small brush and patience matter more than speed.

Pipes running from the floor to the radiator can be painted in the same paint once cleaned and keyed. Work along the pipe with a small brush, wrapping the bristles around it, and check underneath for runs.

Painting Behind a Radiator

For the wall behind, a long-handled radiator roller or an angled radiator brush reaches most of the visible area without taking anything off. Push the radiator gently away from the wall only if the brackets allow it. Taking a radiator off the wall properly means isolating, draining and refitting it, which is plumbing work - if you aren’t confident doing that, use a plumber.

Older Woodwork: Check for Lead Paint First

Homes built before the 1960s - common across Birmingham’s Victorian, Edwardian and interwar housing - may have lead in old layers of paint on skirting boards, doors, banisters and window frames, even under modern coats.

Before sanding old woodwork, test it with a lead test kit. If lead is present, don’t dry-sand it, burn it off or use a heat gun on it, because those methods release lead dust and fumes. Follow the current guidance on old lead paint published on GOV.UK and by the Health and Safety Executive, use wet abrasives and good dust control if you go ahead, and keep children and pregnant people away from the work and the clean-up.

Common Mistakes on Woodwork and Radiators

• Painting over dust and grease. The paint looks fine for a week, then chips. Our guide to preparing walls and surfaces for painting covers cleaning and filling properly.
• Skipping the sand on old gloss. New paint can’t grip a shiny surface and peels.
• Overloading the brush. Causes runs on spindles, mouldings and radiator grooves.
• Painting a warm radiator. The paint drags and dries patchy.
• Leaving gaps un-caulked. Dark lines between skirting and wall stay visible however well you paint.
• Water-based straight over oil-based. Without a key and suitable primer it can peel off in sheets.
• Closing doors too soon. Painted edges stick to the frame and tear.

When It’s Worth Getting a Decorator In

Our interior painting and decorating in Birmingham service takes on the woodwork jobs that eat the most time: whole-house skirting and architraves, staircases with dozens of spindles, and badly chipped or multi-layered old gloss. On woodwork, the prep is where the hours go.

For doors, frames and sashes, we also offer timber window and door painting with the same attention to sanding and caulking.

Our DBS-checked painters will look at the condition first, and your written quote lists the preparation and products we’ll use. Call 0121 752 9229 to arrange a visit.

Related Guides

• Paint finishes explained - which sheen to choose for woodwork, walls and ceilings.
• Preparing walls for painting - filling cracks, sanding and cleaning before you paint.
• How long paint takes to dry - touch dry, recoat and fully hard times by paint type.

Browse more painting and decorating guides for other jobs around the house.