I'm going to repaint my bathroom door, it has currently got some vinyl silk paint which has peeled away in one part from the undercoat.
Problem is, the edge where it has peeled forms a noticeable ridge. I can pick away more paint and it peels off in small areas, but I don't want to do this for the whole door. It would be quicker to move house :-)
Sanding doesn't seem to flatten the edge, it either scratches the surface of the paint or pulls it off in tiny strips.
What's my best bet to get it smooth - get a power sander and do the whole door, try and use filler, or what?
Where to start? First, who put "vinyl silk" on a bathroom door? Not recognised practice - if you want a finish like that, an oil-based paint would be best (eggshell, for me). But it's there now, so we have to start from where we are.
You have identified a problem, which is that the vinyl silk is not a reliable substrate. If you sand it it comes off in tiny strips. If you leave the paint as a basecoat (after rubbing down to form a key, naturally) you run the risk that the paint will continue to detach itself from its undercoat, resulting in your new topcoat looking slightly less than perfect.
What kind of door is it - flush or panel? How old is it?
You could take the door off and get it dipped and stripped - avoid caustic soda dips if you can, as they can loosen the glue. However, you might end up with even more work as all the underlying imperfections will be revealed. You could try a power sander. You could try a thin flexible filling knife to work away at the flaking paint - I've used this successfully in a number of similar situations. You'll probably find pockets of resistance where the paint is more stubborn - a window scraper might be used for these, or good old scratch. But frankly the golden rule in these situations is always - remove all flaking paint down to a stable substrate.
Paint stripper. No need to go for a dip but you'll be back to sanding primer/undercaost & top coat.
Be aware that Nitromors will penetrate ordinary "marigold" washing up gloves. Get some proper chemical resistant gloves, you really don't want methyl chloride on your skin. It hurts and can do nasty things to you as well. Oh and the vapours are "interesting" a mask that can filter out organic vapours is a good idea, ie not a simple dust mask.
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