While paint on interior doors is protected from the elements, it will eventually start to peel and chip, especially if the door is in an area that sees a lot of moisture and temperature changes, such as the bathroom or the kitchen.

When the paint starts to break down, the best thing to do is completely strip the old paint off, and re-paint the entire door.  Here are a few tips to ensure that you achieve an attractive, smooth and like-new finish.

— Start by peeling off as much paint as you can with your hands.  If you’re lucky, a lot of the paint will come off this way.

— Place a thick drop cloth or tarp underneath the door so that there is a few inches sticking out on each side. This cloth will catch any paint stripper that drips or runs off the door.

— Spray a generous amount of paint stripper onto the door, taking care to reach all moulded areas.  Leave the paint stripper to work on the paint.  Check the manufacturer’s instructions to find out exactly how long the     stripper takes to react.

— Periodically test a small area of the paint with a scraper.  When the paint comes up with only gentle scraping, this is a sign that the stripper has done its job and you can get to work.

— Working with the grain of the wood, scrape the paint from the door.  Start with large areas such as the outer edges and the panels. Next move on to smaller moulded areas (you may need a smaller scraper for this).

— When you are finished scraping, wipe down the door and examine your handiwork.  There will probably be some small pieces of paint left on the door.  You can ignore small fragments for now, but if there are any areas of paint left that are bigger than a ten-pence piece, re-apply paint stripper to these and repeat the stripping process.

— Sand any small remaining patches of paint with coarse sand paper.

— Neutralize the stripper by washing the area with generous amounts of warm water.  Leave the area to dry for at least 24 hours.

— Finally, wipe the door down to remove any dust that may have accumulated on it.  You are now ready to re-paint the door.

Always wear gloves while using paint stripper, and work in a well ventilated environment.  Leave doors and windows open, and try to have a fan running in the room if possible.  If you cannot do this, wear a mask while applying the stripper, and do not spend any longer than you have to in the room.

If you have access to a heat gun, you can use it to make stripping paint less labour intensive.  Only use the gun on large, flat areas.  Do not use one if your door features any delicate mouldings or carved areas.  Keep the gun at least 5cm away from the surface of the door, and move it from side to side as you strip the paint.  Think of using a heat-gun like ironing; if you expose any one area of the door to too much heat, it will become scorched.