HOMES It’s not all white

Repainting the woodwork is a surefire way to smarten up your home – just make sure you use the right product, says JULIA GRAy

the paint goes on more easily than solvent-based versions and becomes easier and quicker to apply the more coats you do, so you can finish the job in a day.

Other colours usually need just repainting gloss paint, it’s important to prepare it properly because paint doesn’t adhere well to glossy surfaces.

This means you need to sand it to take off the gloss, then apply wood undercoat (or combined wood primer/undercoat) to give a matt finish ready for the new topcoat.