Hey everyone! I'm working on giving my bedroom a refresh by repainting two doors, two windows, and the baseboards. The issue is that the two doors have some noticeable cracks in the paint (check out the [pics here](https://imgur.com/a/FNSJWuh) for reference). I'm wondering what the best steps are to handle these cracks before I start painting. Should I strip the paint completely, caulk the gaps, or do something else entirely? I'm not super experienced with home improvement, but I definitely want to avoid a messy paint job, especially since these doors haven't seen paint in over 20 years. Thanks for any tips you can share!
3 Answers
For those cracks, I'd suggest carefully scraping out the old paint with a razor to clean up the edges. Sand those areas down, caulk any gaps, prime the affected sections, and then you can paint over them. There's no need to strip the entire door—just focus on the cracked parts!
If you could share any helpful YouTube videos that show how to do these repairs, that would be awesome! It would really help visualize the process.
Just a heads up, those original wood panel doors can expand and contract with changes in temperature and humidity. So if you do decide to sand or strip them, make sure to test for lead paint first, especially since these doors are over 100 years old. The cracking might be a recurring issue with them due to their age.
So it sounds like these cracks might be a common problem with older doors? That's good to know!