How To Paint Skirting Boards
Learning how to paint skirting boards properly is one of those jobs that looks straightforward until you crouch down with a brush and realise every drip, brush mark and missed patch is at eye level for anyone sitting in the room. Skirting is the frame around your floor. Get it wrong and it drags the whole room down. Get it right and it sharpens up even a tired space in a weekend.
I have painted miles of skirting over the years, from Victorian moulded softwood to modern MDF pencil round profiles. The difference between an amateur finish and a professional one is rarely the paint itself. It is preparation, patience and technique. This guide walks you through the whole process, with realistic UK costs, timings and the mistakes that catch people out.
Why Skirting Boards Are Harder to Paint Than They Look
Skirting sits low, so gravity works against you. Paint runs, dust settles into wet coats and your back complains after twenty minutes. The boards also take a beating from hoovers, shoes and mop heads, so the finish needs to be tough as well as tidy.
Then there is the surface itself. Old skirting often carries decades of paint build up, chips and filler repairs. New MDF or timber needs sealing and priming before it will hold a topcoat. Each situation calls for a slightly different approach, which is why rushing straight to the gloss tin is a mistake.
Set your expectations on time too. A single average room, say a 3.5 metre by 4 metre bedroom, takes most people the best part of a day once you factor in prep, drying between coats and cleaning up. Do not believe anyone who tells you it is a quick hour with a brush.
Choosing the Right Paint for Skirting Boards
Your choice of paint shapes both the look and the durability of the finish. The three main options for skirting in UK homes are gloss, satinwood and eggshell.
Gloss gives a high shine and a traditional look. It is hard wearing but shows every imperfection in the surface and every brush mark in the application. Modern water based gloss dries faster and yellows far less than old oil based versions.
Satinwood offers a mid sheen. It is the most popular choice today because it hides minor flaws better than gloss while still wiping clean. For most homeowners this is the sensible default.
Eggshell has a low sheen, almost matt finish. It suits period properties and a softer contemporary look, though it marks slightly more easily than satinwood.
Water based paints have largely overtaken oil based products for interior woodwork. They dry quicker, smell less and stay whiter over time. Oil based paint still gives a slightly harder, self levelling finish that some traditionalists prefer, but the yellowing on white skirting is a real drawback in low light rooms.
If you want to understand sheen levels and where each finish performs best, our guide on Choosing the Right Paint Finish for Different Surfaces breaks it down in detail.
Typical UK Paint Costs
| Product type | Typical price per 750ml | Coverage | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water based satinwood | £16 to £28 | Up to 12m² per coat | Most modern homes |
| Water based gloss | £15 to £26 | Up to 12m² per coat | Traditional high shine look |
| Eggshell | £18 to £30 | Up to 12m² per coat | Period and softer finishes |
| Wood primer or undercoat | £12 to £22 | Up to 14m² per coat | Bare timber and MDF |
| MDF primer sealer | £14 to £25 | Up to 12m² per coat | Cut MDF edges |
A 750ml tin covers the skirting of an average room comfortably across two coats. For a whole house, budget on two or three larger tins of topcoat plus primer.
Tools and Materials You Will Need
- Angled sash brush, 25mm to 38mm, synthetic bristle for water based paint
- Small foam or microfibre roller for larger flat runs, optional
- Dust sheets or old bedding to protect the floor
- Low tack decorators masking tape
- Fine grade sandpaper, 120 to 240 grit, and a sanding block
- Sugar soap or a household degreaser
- Decorators caulk and a caulking gun
- Flexible filler for chips and dents
- Filling knife or putty knife
- Primer or undercoat suited to your surface
- Clean lint free cloths and a bucket
- Kneeling pad, your knees will thank you
Buy a decent brush. A cheap brush sheds bristles into your wet paint and leaves a ragged edge. A quality angled sash brush costs £8 to £15 and lasts years if you clean it properly.
Preparing Skirting Boards Before Painting
Preparation accounts for roughly 70 percent of a good finish. Skip it and no amount of expensive paint will save you.
Step One: Clear and Protect the Area
Move furniture away from the walls. Lay dust sheets along the floor, tucking them right up to the base of the skirting. Skirting sits over the top edge of the floor covering, so protect carpets and hard floors carefully.
If you have carpet, tuck a wide filling knife or a strip of card behind the top of the carpet as you paint to keep bristles off the pile.
Step Two: Clean the Surface
Skirting collects grease, dust and scuff marks, especially in kitchens and hallways. Wash it down with sugar soap mixed to the instructions on the pack, then rinse with clean water and let it dry fully. Paint will not bond to a greasy or dusty surface, and this single step prevents a huge number of peeling problems later.
Step Three: Fill and Repair
Fill any chips, dents or nail holes with a flexible filler. Press it in, smooth it off and leave it to dry. Once hard, sand it flush. Deep dents may need two applications because filler shrinks slightly as it cures.
Step Four: Sand Everything
Lightly sand the entire length of skirting. On previously painted boards you are keying the surface so the new paint grips, not stripping it back. On bare timber or MDF you are smoothing the grain and any raised edges. Use 120 grit for rough areas and finish with 240 grit for a smooth base. Wipe away all dust with a slightly damp cloth afterwards.
Step Five: Seal the Gaps
Gaps between the top of the skirting and the wall are the single biggest giveaway of a rushed job. A thin bead of decorators caulk run along that join, then smoothed with a wet finger, creates a crisp shadow free line. Let it cure fully before painting.
For a proper walk through of this stage, see our guide on How to Seal Gaps Around Skirting Boards for a Neat Paint Ready Finish. It covers caulk choice and application in detail.
How to Paint Skirting Boards Step by Step
With the prep done, the actual painting is the satisfying part. Work methodically and resist the urge to rush the first coat.
Step One: Mask Where Needed
Run low tack masking tape along the floor edge if you are working on hard floors, and along the wall line if your cutting in is not steady. Do not leave tape on for days, as it can pull paint or leave residue. Peel it while the final coat is still slightly tacky for the cleanest edge.
Step Two: Prime Bare or Repaired Areas
Any bare timber, exposed MDF or fresh filler needs priming first. MDF cut edges are especially thirsty and will drink topcoat unevenly if left unsealed, so use a dedicated MDF primer or a solvent based sealer on those edges. Let the primer dry for the time stated on the tin, usually two to four hours for water based products.
Step Three: Apply the First Coat
Load the brush about a third of the way up the bristles and tap off the excess rather than dragging it across the tin rim. Start in the middle of a section, spread the paint out, then finish with long light strokes in one direction to lay it off smoothly.
Work in manageable sections of a metre or so. Keep a wet edge, meaning you blend each new section into the still wet paint of the last, so you do not get overlap marks.
Do not try to cover in one thick coat. Thick paint sags and runs on vertical faces. Two thin coats always beat one heavy one.
Step Four: Let It Dry, Then Sand Lightly
Allow the first coat to dry fully, typically two to six hours for water based paint depending on temperature and ventilation. Once dry, give it a very gentle rub with 240 grit or a fine sanding pad to knock back any dust nibs or brush texture. Wipe clean.
Step Five: Apply the Second Coat
Apply the second coat the same way as the first, working in sections and laying off in one direction. This coat gives you the depth of colour and the even sheen. If you are using gloss, this is where imperfections show most, so take your time and keep the light behind you so you can see reflections and misses.
Step Six: Remove Tape and Inspect
Peel tape carefully at a low angle while the paint is still slightly soft. Check the finish from a low angle with light raking across it. Touch up any thin spots once the coat has dried.
A Realistic Cost Breakdown
If you are doing the work yourself, the outlay is mostly materials. If you hire a decorator, you are paying for skill and speed.
| Item or service | DIY cost | Professional cost |
|---|---|---|
| Paint for one average room | £20 to £35 | Included in quote |
| Primer and filler | £20 to £35 | Included in quote |
| Brushes, sheets, sundries | £25 to £45 | Included in quote |
| Labour, one room skirting | Your time, half to full day | £120 to £250 |
| Whole house skirting, decorator | Several days DIY | £600 to £1,400 |
Decorator day rates across the UK typically run from £150 to £250, higher in London and the South East. Many painters price skirting as part of a wider redecoration rather than as a standalone job, which usually works out better value.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Most skirting jobs go wrong for the same handful of reasons. Knowing them in advance saves you redoing the work.
Skipping the clean. Painting over grease or dust leads to peeling within months. Sugar soap first, always.
Overloading the brush. Too much paint causes runs and sags on the vertical face of the skirting. These are almost impossible to hide once dry and mean sanding back.
Not sealing MDF edges. Bare MDF absorbs paint unevenly and leaves a fuzzy, patchy finish. Seal it properly before the topcoat.
Painting in poor light. You cannot see misses and thin spots in dim conditions. Work with strong light raking across the surface.
Leaving masking tape on too long. Tape left for days bakes onto the surface and pulls paint when removed. Peel it while the final coat is still slightly tacky.
Rushing between coats. Recoating before the first coat has cured causes dragging and a soft, tacky finish that never hardens properly.
Ignoring ventilation. Even water based paints release fumes. Keep windows open and air moving. The Health and Safety Executive offers guidance on working safely with paints and solvents, worth a read if you are tackling a large job. See the Health and Safety Executive for general advice on ventilation and hazardous substances.
Painting Old Skirting Versus New Skirting
The approach differs depending on whether you are refreshing existing boards or finishing newly fitted ones.
Old skirting usually carries layers of previous paint. Focus on cleaning, filling chips, sanding to key the surface and dealing with any flaking. If old paint is badly cracked or lifting, scrape it back to a sound edge and feather the transition with filler before repainting. Homes built before 1970 may have lead based paint under the top layers, so avoid dry sanding heavily and check guidance before disturbing it.
New skirting needs the full sequence of sealing, priming and topcoating. Bare timber takes a wood primer, MDF takes an MDF sealer or primer. If you are also fitting the boards, the mitres and joints must be neat before you paint, because paint highlights every gap.
If you are installing skirting from scratch, our guides on How to Fit Skirting Boards in a UK Home Measure Mitre and Fix for a Neat Finish and How to Fit Skirting Board Corners Neatly with Mitres and Scribes cover cutting and jointing before you reach the painting stage.
Getting a Professional Grade Finish
A few habits separate a decent finish from a genuinely crisp one.
Always lay off in the same direction, usually left to right, following the length of the board. This aligns any faint brush texture so it reads as smooth from normal viewing distance.
Thin your paint very slightly if it is dragging, using the manufacturer recommended thinner and only a splash. This helps it flow and self level.
Keep the room at a steady, moderate temperature. Paint applied in a cold room dries slowly and attracts dust. Applied in a hot room it dries too fast and shows brush marks.
Use a small foam roller on long straight runs to speed things up, then tip off immediately with a dry brush to remove the fine roller stipple. This gives you speed and a brushed smoothness together.
For durability guidance on paint standards and low emission products, the Environment Agency and product VOC labelling can help you choose lower solvent options, which matter in enclosed rooms and homes with children.
How Long Does It Take?
Timing depends on the state of the existing boards and how many rooms you are doing.
- One room, good condition existing skirting: half a day of active work plus drying time between two coats.
- One room, poor condition or bare boards: a full day including filling, priming and two topcoats.
- Whole house: two to four days for a competent DIYer, spread over evenings and a weekend to allow drying.
Water based paints touch dry in around one to two hours and recoat in four to six. Oil based needs far longer, often overnight between coats, which is another reason most people now choose water based.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to prime skirting boards before painting?
It depends on the surface. Previously painted skirting in sound condition only needs cleaning and light sanding, not full priming, though a fresh coat of undercoat helps if you are changing colour dramatically. Bare timber, MDF and any filled areas must be primed. MDF in particular needs a dedicated sealer or primer on the cut edges, otherwise it soaks up topcoat and looks patchy. Priming bare surfaces also stops tannins and resins bleeding through and staining your finish.
Should I paint skirting boards before or after the walls?
Opinions differ, but the practical order most decorators use is to paint the skirting first, let it cure, then mask its top edge and paint the walls down to it. Wall paint on skirting wipes off or covers easily, whereas skirting paint splashed onto a finished wall is fiddly to fix. If you paint walls first, take extra care cutting in above the skirting. Whichever order you choose, do ceilings first of all.
What is the best paint for skirting boards in a high traffic hallway?
For hallways, stairs and other high traffic areas, choose a hard wearing water based satinwood or gloss. These wipe clean and resist scuffing far better than eggshell or matt finishes. Satinwood is the popular middle ground, offering durability without the unforgiving shine of full gloss that highlights every knock. Make sure the surface is well prepared, because durability starts with adhesion, not just the toughness of the paint film.
Why does my skirting paint keep peeling or flaking?
Peeling almost always traces back to preparation. The most common causes are painting over grease or dust, painting over damp or condensation prone areas, not keying a glossy previous coat with sandpaper, or recoating before earlier layers cured. Clean with sugar soap, sand to a matt key, ensure the surface is dry and use the correct primer for the material. If peeling continues in one spot, check for underlying damp in the wall or floor.
Can I paint over old gloss skirting with water based paint?
Yes, and many people do exactly this to move away from yellowing oil based gloss. The key is to sand the old gloss thoroughly to create a key, since water based paint struggles to grip a shiny surface. Clean off the sanding dust, then apply a suitable primer or an adhesion promoting undercoat before your water based topcoat. Skip the sanding and the new paint is likely to peel within months.
Final Thoughts
Painting skirting boards rewards patience over speed. The paint is the easy part. The clean, crisp result comes from washing, filling, sanding and sealing before the brush ever touches the surface. Two thin coats, laid off in one direction with a good brush, will always outperform one rushed heavy coat.
Budget a realistic amount of time, keep the room ventilated and well lit, and choose a finish that suits both the room and the wear it will take. Do that and your skirting will look sharp for years, framing your floors the way good skirting should.
If you would rather leave it to a professional, or you are tackling a full redecoration and want the whole job done to a high standard, you can post a job on BookaBuilderUK and get free quotes from vetted local painters and decorators near you.
