Painting - Layers of old paint

The door trims in my house have over time been painted over and over and over....many layers. Some areas where it has been bumped are now showing the different layers of paint. What is the easiest way to fix this. I would like to paint the door trim again but would like to avoid having a bumpy look to it.
Thanks.

Welcome to the forums!

How old is your house? If it's older than 35-40 yrs, there is a chance that there is a lead based enamel on the woodwork - so sanding might not be recomended.

Ideally you would either strip or sand the woodwork until it's nice and smooth. You can cheat by roughing it up a little with sandpaper and applying a thin coat of spackling to the low spots. Sand and prime when dry and it should be ready for enamel.

Thanks.
The house was built in the 60's...if there is lead based enamel is there anything I can do?

You should have it tested. Not all homes built in the '60s had lead based oil paint. Lead was banned from residential coatings in the early '70s.

You should be able to order a lead testing kit online. Your local paint store may also have one [or atleast point you in the right direction] I've never personally used one so my knowledge is limited :o

General practice is to either chemically remove the lead from all the lower level areas [where a kid can reach] or encapsulate it [cover it with paint to prevent peeling/chipping] The biggest danger is from injesting the lead dust from sanding.


All that said, it would probably be ok to just fill in the low spots with spackling, sand the spackling smooth when dry, prime and paint - that should't disturb any lead base coatings that are likely covered by several layers of non lead based paint.

Lead paint was banned in 1978 by the Consumer Product Safety Commision for use in residential paint.

You need to take precautions not to disturb the underlying paint in pre-1978 housing. You should also become familiar with "lead safe" practices.

EPA has a lead paint website section which has a lot of information concerning lead paint and lead safe practices. See: Lead Home | Lead in Paint, Dust, and Soil | US EPA (http://www.epa.gov/lead/)

Good info Slatz!

I wonder if local gov'ts starting regulating lead based coatings before the 1978 ban. I remember in the mid '70s having to sign an affadavit at the paint store anytime I bought a lead based primer - stated it would not be used on residiential or any commercial bldg that was prodominently used by children.

If I remember correctly it was the late '80's before they banned it in automotive coatings.

Yes, according to EPA "The federal government (CPSC) banned lead based paint from housing in 1978. Some states stopped its use even earlier"

I don't know about auto paint.