Can You Paint Over Gloss? Expert Tips for a Perfect Finish

Of course, you absolutely can paint over gloss. But here’s the thing: jumping straight in without prepping the surface is a classic DIY mistake, and it always ends in disaster.

Gloss finishes are slick and non-porous. New paint has nothing to grab onto, so it will inevitably start peeling and chipping, leaving you with a finish that looks worse than when you started. The real secret to a flawless result is all in the preparation.

Why You Can Paint Over Gloss (With the Right Prep)

Think of that old gloss paint on your skirting boards or door frames as a sheet of glass. If you tried to paint directly onto it, the new coat would just slide around and flake off once it dried. Your job is to transform that shiny, glass-like surface into something more like fine-grit sandpaper, giving the new paint a proper surface to adhere to.

This isn’t a step you can afford to skip. It involves a few non-negotiable stages to get right:

• A Proper Clean: First, you need to get rid of years of built-up grease, grime, and oils. Any dirt left behind will stop the paint from sticking properly.
• A Good Sanding: Next, you need to scuff up that shiny surface. This creates a "key," which is just a fancy way of saying you're giving the new paint something to grip onto.
• The Right Primer: Finally, an adhesion primer is your best friend. It acts as the perfect middleman, bonding securely to the old gloss and providing an ideal base for your new topcoat.

For a quick overview, here's a look at the essential steps and why they matter.

Painting Over Gloss At a Glance

This table breaks down the key stages of the process, highlighting why each one is so crucial for achieving a durable, professional finish.

Following these steps ensures your new paint job will last for years to come.

Gloss paints have long been the go-to for their durability, especially on woodwork like skirting boards and doors. With more people tackling home improvements, knowing how to do this properly is more important than ever. After all, a good paint job is all about the finish, and knowing how to select the best paint for interior wood is a huge part of that.

By taking the time to clean, sand, and prime, you're not just painting – you're guaranteeing a professional, long-lasting result that will elevate your home's finish instead of detracting from it.

Your Essential Toolkit for the Perfect Finish

Heading into a project without the right gear is a surefire way to make things harder than they need to be. When tackling gloss paint, having the correct tools is honestly half the battle. This isn't just about the paint itself; it's the prep work that really guarantees a professional look.

First things first, protect your space. Dust sheets are non-negotiable for covering floors and furniture. Good-quality masking tape will give you those satisfyingly sharp lines along skirting boards and door frames.

Preparation and Priming Essentials

Next, it's time to deal with the surface. You'll need a powerful cleaner to cut through years of grime that can build up on gloss finishes. Sugar soap is the traditional choice for a reason—it gets rid of any grease that would otherwise stop your primer and paint from sticking properly.

For the crucial sanding stage, you have a couple of options:

• Traditional Sandpaper: A medium-grit sandpaper, around 120-grit, is perfect. It’s abrasive enough to scuff up the glossy surface without being too harsh and creating deep scratches.
• Liquid Sander: If you're worried about the mess and dust, a liquid sander is a fantastic alternative that chemically dulls the surface, getting it ready for priming with minimal clean-up.

Finally, the most important item in your toolkit is a high-quality adhesion primer. This is the secret weapon. It creates a solid bond between the old gloss and your new paint, ensuring a durable, long-lasting finish that won’t peel or chip down the line.

A great paint job relies on more than just the final colour. Investing in quality preparation tools and a good set of brushes, such as those in a Purdy 5-piece brush set, makes the entire process smoother and delivers a far superior result. This is where you turn a DIY task into a professional-looking finish.

Mastering the Preparation for a Flawless Result

Anyone who’s tried to paint over gloss knows the real work happens long before you even pry open a tin of paint. A professional-looking finish is almost entirely down to your prep work. It’s the difference between a durable, beautiful coat and one that peels and chips within a few months. It all starts with a proper clean.

Over the years, glossy surfaces on skirting boards, doors, and window frames attract a surprising amount of grease, grime, and household oils. If you paint straight over that film, the new coat will never properly stick. Your first job is to wash the entire surface with sugar soap and warm water, using a sponge or cloth to get into every nook and cranny. This degreasing step is non-negotiable; it gives you a clean foundation to work from.

Creating the Perfect Key

Once your surface is clean and completely dry, it’s time for the most critical stage: sanding. Gloss paint has that smooth, non-porous finish which is great for wiping down but terrible for paint adhesion. You need to create what we call a ‘key’ by scuffing up this shiny layer, which gives the new primer something to physically grip onto.

Using a medium-grit sandpaper (around 120-grit) is usually perfect for this. The goal isn't to strip all the old paint off, just to dull the shine and create a fine, matte texture across the whole surface. For big, flat areas like doors, an electric sander can be a massive time-saver. But for fiddly bits like architraves or intricate mouldings, you’ll get more control with a sanding block or sponge.

The image below shows just how vital this prep and sanding phase is for creating a surface that’s ready for primer.

It really highlights that proper preparation and sanding are the foundational steps that directly affect how well your paint will stick and how long it will last.

Final Touches Before Priming

With the main sanding done, take a moment to look over the surface for any dings, dents, or old nail holes. Now is the time to sort them out.

• Filling: Grab a putty knife and apply a small amount of multi-purpose filler, slightly overfilling the hole. Once it's bone dry, sand it back so it’s perfectly flush with the surface around it.
• Final Clean: Sanding creates a lot of dust, and dust is the enemy of a smooth paint finish. Use a vacuum with a brush attachment to get rid of the bulk of it, then follow up with a wipe-down using a tack cloth or a slightly damp microfibre cloth.

Remember, the smoother and cleaner your surface is now, the better your final result will be. Taking an extra 10 minutes here will save you hours of frustration later.

If you’re dealing with surfaces that have layers upon layers of old, stubborn paint that sanding alone won’t touch, you might need to bring in the heavy artillery. In those cases, a product like PeelAway 1 can be a brilliant way to strip the surface right back before you even think about starting the prep process.

Choosing and Applying the Right Primer

Think of primer as the crucial handshake between that old, slick gloss and your new topcoat. After all that hard graft cleaning and sanding, this is the layer that really guarantees a professional, long-lasting finish. Picking the right one is key, as not all primers are up to the specific challenge of painting over gloss.

Painting straight over gloss used to be a DIY nightmare, but thankfully, innovations in primer technology have made it easier than ever to get great adhesion on non-porous surfaces. It's a popular choice for renovations, saving both time and money compared to a full strip-back.

Types of Adhesion Primer

For this job, you absolutely need a dedicated adhesion primer. These are specially formulated to grip onto tricky surfaces like gloss. Your main options here in the UK boil down to three types:

• Water-Based (Acrylic): These are by far the most user-friendly. They're low-odour, dry quickly, and you can clean your brushes with just water. Modern water-based primers offer fantastic adhesion and are perfect for most interior woodwork like skirting boards and doors.
• Oil-Based (Alkyd): The traditional choice, oil-based primers offer incredible durability and are brilliant at blocking stains. They’re ideal for high-traffic areas or surfaces with stubborn marks that might bleed through a water-based product. The trade-off? A stronger smell and much longer drying times.
• Shellac-Based: This is the ultimate problem-solver. A shellac-based primer, like the highly-regarded Zinsser B-I-N Primer Sealer, is your best bet for blocking severe stains, pesky knots in wood, and even lingering odours. It dries incredibly fast but does require methylated spirits for clean-up.

When you're ready to apply your primer, the goal is a thin, even coat. Don't overload your brush, as that’s a fast track to drips and a lumpy texture. Just work methodically, making sure you cover every inch of the surface, especially any detailed moulding or tricky corners.

Let the primer dry completely according to the manufacturer's instructions—don't be tempted to rush this stage. Once it’s dry, have a proper look at the coverage. If you can still see the old gloss peeking through or the surface feels a bit patchy, a second thin coat of primer is a wise investment for a flawless foundation.

How to Apply Topcoats Like a Professional

With all the prep work done and your primer perfectly cured, you’ve finally reached the rewarding part. Applying the topcoat is where your vision truly comes to life, but a few professional tricks will ensure the finish is smooth, durable, and free of those frustrating brush marks.

The biggest secret to a flawless result isn't some magic brush; it's patience. It’s always tempting to slap on one thick, heavy coat to get the job done quickly, but this almost always leads to drips, an uneven texture, and a much longer drying time. Instead, your goal should be two or three thin, even coats. This approach builds up a much stronger, more resilient finish that looks far more polished.

Achieving a Smooth Application

For modern water-based paints like satinwood or eggshell, a high-quality synthetic brush is your best friend. They don't absorb water like natural bristles do, which really helps lay the paint on smoothly. Load up your brush and apply the paint in long, confident strokes, always following the grain of the wood.

Once you have coverage on a section, it's time to ‘lay off’. This is a simple but incredibly effective technique. Using just the very tip of your brush, gently glide it over the wet paint in one continuous stroke from one end to the other. This simple action levels out the paint and eliminates nearly all brush marks, giving you that sought-after seamless surface.

Pro Tip: For a truly exceptional finish, give the surface a very light sanding between coats. Once the first topcoat is completely dry, gently go over it with fine-grit sandpaper (around 320-grit). This knocks down any tiny imperfections or dust particles, creating an ultra-smooth base for your final coat. Always wipe away the dust with a tack cloth before painting again.

This small extra step can elevate your project from looking like a good DIY job to a truly professional one. It’s this attention to detail that ensures your newly painted surfaces not only look fantastic but also stand the test of time, resisting chips and scuffs for years to come.

Making an Eco-Friendly Paint Choice

Doing your bit for the planet doesn't have to mean compromising on quality, especially when you're painting over gloss. Choosing a modern, eco-friendly paint is a fantastic way to get a stunning finish while making a healthier choice for your home and the environment.

Many modern paints are now formulated to be low-VOC. That stands for Volatile Organic Compounds, which are chemicals released into the air as the paint dries. These nasties can contribute to air pollution and even cause headaches or dizziness, so opting for a low-VOC water-based paint creates a much healthier indoor environment.

Superior Performance Meets Sustainability

You might be wondering if these greener options can really handle the tough job of covering a glossy surface. The answer is a resounding yes. Today’s best eco-conscious adhesion primers and topcoats are engineered with some seriously clever tech, ensuring they bond just as effectively as their traditional oil-based counterparts.

This means you can confidently choose a water-based system that offers:

• Excellent grip on properly prepped gloss surfaces.
• A durable, long-lasting finish that resists scuffs and knocks.
• Low odour and much faster drying times, making your project quicker and more pleasant all round.

Environmental considerations have massively shaped the UK paint industry. The government imposes strict limits on VOCs, which has pushed manufacturers to develop innovative, high-performance water-based products perfect for painting over gloss. You can get a better sense of these industry shifts by exploring the current trends in the UK paints and coatings market.

By choosing a modern, low-VOC water-based paint, you’re not just updating your décor; you’re aligning your DIY project with greener home improvement standards without sacrificing an ounce of performance.

Your Gloss Painting Questions, Answered

Even when you've got a plan, a few questions always seem to surface when you're about to tackle a gloss paint job. Let's get into the most common ones we hear from fellow DIYers.

Do I Really Have to Sand Gloss Paint?

Yes, absolutely. This step is completely non-negotiable.

Sanding, often called 'keying' the surface, scuffs up that slick finish with thousands of tiny scratches. It's these microscopic grooves that give the new primer something to really bite into. If you skip this, your fresh coat of paint will almost certainly peel or chip away with the slightest knock, and all that hard work will be for nothing.

If you're worried about the dust, a liquid sander is a decent alternative.

Can I Use Emulsion on a Gloss Surface?

You should never, ever apply a standard wall emulsion directly onto a gloss surface, even if it's been sanded down properly. Emulsion just isn't designed to stick to such a non-porous base.

You first need to apply a good adhesion primer. Once that primer has fully cured, it creates the perfect foundation for whatever topcoat you've chosen, whether that’s a modern eggshell, a satin finish, or even a fresh coat of gloss.

The golden rule is simple: always prime a sanded gloss surface before applying any new paint. This guarantees a durable bond and a professional-looking result that lasts for years.

For all your decorating needs, from high-adhesion primers to professional-quality brushes, explore the full range at Neasden Hardware. Find everything you need for a flawless finish at https://neasdenhardware.co.uk.