Painting dark woodwork that has old bumpy polyurethanes question
Small 1929 house, all woodwork was stained dark and sealed with some sort of polyurethane. I want to paint, but poly is bumpy and needs to be removed.
Can It be done without stripping poly?
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That is probably not poly--it is more than likely varnish due to the age of your home. Your home was built before poly was invented! If you are going to paint it rather than strip it and redo the stain you can just sand it until it is smooth, then prime with a good primer, and then paint. If you do want to keep the wood look you can sand the varnish smooth but it would be better to use a stripper and get all the finish off down to the wood and stain it again and then use poly. I know that is a HUGE job. Another option would be to buy new trim for around windows and doors.
Assuming that you have moldings and not just flat boards, paint stripper is the only way. They didn't have polyurethane in 1929, not that it matters. Removal of an age-damaged multi-layer finish is the same. Of course you could just paint over without removing the old finish but the painted finish will be just as bumpy.
Over the years others have just applied more coats of finish without proper preparation, which is why it is bumpy, and sooner or later someone has to "pay the piper".