Paint for skirting Boards

I'd be using an oil based paint as its tougher and I'd go for either semi or satin finish as it won't show all the blemishes as much as a gloss will.

I'd paint the skirting boards the same as the architraves and windows. If the architraves and windows were done in high gloss enamel then use high gloss enamel. If they were done in high gloss acrylic then use the acrylic.

I'd use gloss too. If they are already painted in acrylic though you'll have to stick with acrylic, unless you want to sand them right back. You can paint acrylic over enamel (after a scuff) but not enamel over acrylic. Acrylic is flexible, enamel isn't.

I think you have it wrong Scarlette. You can paint enamel over acrylic but you can't paint acrylic over enamel. The only way you can is by rubbing back the enamel surface until all the shine is gone, then apply acrylic undercoat followed by acrylic top coats.

well you have to rub back the enamel anyway, but that piece of information i received at a Dulux information workshop, s if i'm wrong so are they.

Originally Posted by Jacksin

Ditto

I remember a former customer went along to Bunnies and they said the same thing so he painted acrylic over enamel on all his interior wood trim. Looked OK until I had to swap and modify a door from one room to another. Every time I touched it the paint virtually rubbed off.

Looks like he will now have the task of sanding it all back and doing it properly

That's my experience too. I painted Dulux undercoat and Dulux Aquanamel semigloss acrylic over previously painted trim, which I presume was oil-based enamel. I used ESP first. The paint didn't stick at all. Every little bump and paint came off. Fortunately it was a small room and not all of the trim in the room

Had to scrape and sand it off, which is a bloody awful job. It is much worse than sanding it all in the first place, because the new paint sticks in spots so in sanding the new paint off you end up with a worse surface than if you had just sanded the old paint in the first place.

I also sanded the parts I hadn't painted. Then I used Zinser Bin over it all and went directly to the Aquanamel. It worked really well. The Zinser Bin is actually cheaper than Dulux undercoat and much easier to get a good finish as it is so thin (you need to buy the brush cleaner for Zinser Bin though - I think it is just laundry ammonia). Bin also dries very quickly.