How to Paint Skirtings and Architraves Correctly
The professional approach to painting skirting boards and architraves: preparation, filling gaps, choosing between eggshell, satin, and gloss, and brush technique for clean edges.
Why Skirtings and Architraves Deserve Serious Attention
In most London period properties, skirtings and architraves are the woodwork that guests notice most without consciously registering it. They frame every doorway, every room junction, every floor meeting wall. When they are painted well — clean edges, consistent sheen, no visible brush marks — the room looks finished and professional. When they are done carelessly, with ragged wall-to-wood edges, dribbles on the carpet, and patchy coverage, they undermine the whole decorating job.
The good news is that painting skirtings and architraves correctly is a skill that follows a reliable sequence. Get the sequence right and the results follow.
Preparation: What Actually Takes the Time
Experienced decorators spend most of their time on skirtings and architraves in preparation, not application. The most common failure modes — poor adhesion, visible brush marks, gaps that crack open within weeks — all originate in inadequate prep.
Strip or key? On older properties, skirtings often carry ten or more layers of paint. If the profile of the moulding is buried under thick build-up, strip back to bare timber or take back to a thin, sound film. A heat gun (Steinel or Bosch, below 350°C) and a shavehook works well for moulded profiles. On flat-faced modern skirtings, 120-grit sanding to key the surface is sufficient if the existing paint is intact and well adhered.
Test for lead. In any property built before 1970, particularly in period London homes, test skirting paint with a lead test swab (3M LeadCheck or similar) before dry-sanding. Sanding lead paint without containment creates hazardous dust. If lead is present, either encapsulate it with a good adhesion primer (Zinsser BIN or Bulls Eye 1-2-3) and paint over it, or commission a specialist removal.
Fill gaps. The junction between skirting and floor and between skirting or architrave and plaster wall is almost always gapped — from timber movement, settlement, or age. Fill these with a flexible decorator's caulk (UniBond Ready Mix Caulk or Gyproc Coving Adhesive in a caulking gun). Do not use frame sealant or silicone here: neither accepts paint cleanly. Apply a thin, consistent bead, tool smooth with a wet finger, and allow to skin for at least two hours before painting over.
Fill any dents, holes from fixings, or open grain with a fine two-part wood filler or ready-mixed lightweight filler. Sand flush when hard, then wipe down with a slightly damp cloth to remove dust before priming.
Product Choices: Eggshell, Satin, or Gloss?
The finish choice changes the character of the room.
Gloss is the traditional choice for skirtings and architraves in period London properties. It is hard, cleanable, and historically correct. Oil-based gloss (Dulux Trade High Gloss, Johnstone's Gloss) provides the deepest sheen and self-levels well but yellows over time on white or light colours. Water-based gloss (Little Greene Intelligent Gloss, Tikkurila Helmi 100) does not yellow, dries faster, and performs comparably in most domestic settings.
Satin (sometimes called mid-sheen or semi-gloss) is increasingly the preferred choice in contemporary London interiors. It is less reflective than gloss, which suits rooms with lower ceilings or limited natural light. Dulux Trade Satinwood, Tikkurila Helmi 50, and Little Greene Intelligent Satinwood are all reliable options. Satin is easier to apply without visible brush marks than full gloss.
Eggshell gives a low-luster, almost chalky sheen on woodwork. It is well suited to informal or relaxed interiors and to properties where the woodwork is part of a tonal, low-contrast colour scheme — for example, painting skirtings in a colour close to the wall rather than in a contrasting white. It chips and wears more readily than satin or gloss on floor-level skirtings, so is less appropriate for high-traffic areas such as hallways.
For most London period homes — Belgravia townhouses, Chelsea flats, Kensington villas — a water-based satin or water-based gloss is the practical professional recommendation.
Brush Technique for Clean Edges
Apply paint to skirtings and architraves after the walls are finished but before the floor is sanded or new carpet is fitted. If working on finished floors, lay a thin strip of masking tape along the floor edge of the skirting for the first coat, remove before it fully dries, and hand-cut the second coat freehand using a 1.5-inch angled sash brush (Hamilton Prestige or Purdy XL Dale).
The brush technique that produces clean edges: load the brush moderately (dip a third of the bristle length, tap rather than wipe to retain paint in the bristles), apply with light strokes parallel to the wood grain, and lay off with very light, long strokes from dry into wet. Do not apply too much pressure near the wall edge — a loaded brush leaned at angle against the wall will push paint onto the plaster above the skirting.
Two coats over a primed surface are always required for full opacity and durability. Three coats give a more robust, professional finish on new or bare timber.
For skirting and architrave painting carried out to a proper professional standard in London, request a free quote.