how to update skirting and door frames on a budget

Hi, If you are looking for a new look finish you could replace the skirting boards entirely and paint them - New skirting also comes with grooves so you can tuck cables (that you don't need to move often) behind them. The alternative of course is to sand down and repaint which is always an option but it is time consuming, hard work and dusty - especially if there are many layers of paint on them. With the replacement option you can measure, paint and fit at your leisure - no dust or elbow grease !

As you said you were on a budget I have to recommend a good sand and re-paint over the replacement option. If you take the time to do it properly it will look great, but it will take time and elbow grease as Seaview said! Start with a rough-ish paper (120 grit if its just thick paint causing the rough finish, or perhaps 80 grit if the paint has particles of dust/grit in it causing the roughness). Dust it all down (or hoover ideally), this is very important as getting dust in the paint job at any point defeats the entire object! Then paint with a good solvent undercoat to give you a nice smooth base. Sand again when undercoat is dry with fine paper (180-240 grit) to remove the last imperfections, and dust down/ hoover one final time. Now you're ready for your top coat of gloss / satin or whatever and everything should be perfectly smooth. If you want to go one step further, sand again with fine paper and paint an additional coat of gloss / satin but this is rarely needed if previous coats are done properly. Alternatively, if the old paint is really thick you could strip the old paint back with Nitromorse or some other stripping compound before starting the other steps. This is cheap but even more time consuming and can be pretty messy. Hope this helps

Hi pretty much the same as above a good sand down of both skirts and doors will work wonders to rejuvenate them, also running a thin bead of caulk over the joint lines of the skirts and doors (where the woodwork meets the walls) always works well do this all the time on site to give the woodwork a nice clean edge and hide any movement gaps that occur with time Hope this helps