No, not another naturist thread (although we've had to few of them IMHO) but a question on repainting wooden shutters. Does anyone have any experience/recommendations on having them dipped, stripped and painted? The last decorator did such an appalling job it's back to square one for these beasties.

Well the title certainly caught my immediate attention, and in a flash I was ready to subscribe.
After which, a read of the thread brought me rapidly back to reality.
No experience here with 'dipping' of shutters, which I presume is some procedure which may assist in the subsequent stripping of the paint or lacquer.
Every 3-4 years, I remove all our shutters, and after individually placing them on trestles, then start the arduous task of stripping, followed by the slightly more satisfying task of applying 3 coats of Lasure - Tres Haute Protection Volets/Bois Exteriors. The manufacturer guarantees this for up to 8 years, which may be the case for north-facing shutters, but certainly not ours, most of which face south/south-west.

Should now be interesting to hear from all you 'dippers' out there.......

The problem with dipping is that it strips all the glue. So Kitchen chairs etc fall apart after a few years.
So long as the shutters are properly morticed and pinned I would have thought it is safe, but given the extremes of weather here it is not something I would like to have done.

I agree with Bigglesworth, chemicals are bad for wood and glue. The easiest way to prepare for repainting would possibly be a light shot blast. Have you considered replacing with PVC?

I totally agree about the problems caused by dipping - had that problem back in the UK.

We had all our shutters repainted this year but it was done properly, each one taken down and taken back to the wood then primed and undercoated before painting. He did a really good job but twas not cheap.

PVC Never! Wouldn't be allowed to here anyway because of the Park status.

Wooden shutters keep the heat and/or cold out, depending on the season, PVC ones don't.

You could use a heat gun to melt off the layers of paint.
Be careful if there is old lead-based paint present.

I wouldn’t knock the PVC too quickly unless you have experience of them. I have in Florida and they are good, durable, maintenance free and relatively cheap. They also keep the heat out, I cannot comment on keeping the cold out though.

We have them too (decorative only), and they are paintable - a previous owner of our house painted ours moss green and I painted them black again, and if anything they now look better that they would have new.

If a good design (similar to wooden ones) I would challenge anyone to prove they aren't wood without coming up to the house and touching them!

My first thought would be, can I rub down with sandpaper, flapwheel and wire wool, enough to create a surface with enough key to take a paint over. Full stripping is tough where the joints are, always bits left. If original painter let paint run creating blobs they would need special attention. I have repainted shutters when paint has faded, but been lucky just to have washed won to remove grease, left to dry and then fresh paint. End result very acceptable.
Agree, don't dip. Kills wood. Would need to undercoat and top coat for any decent result.

Not sure what sort of paint you have access to, but US waterbased exterior "enamel" paint (for doors, windowframes, etc.) does not need the surface sanding, just a clean surface free from dirt and loose material.

The sun here is pretty brutal, we're level with Gibraltar, and painting every other year keeps the appearance in top condition, with the paint never cracking or peeling to the point that I need to do any stripping, or even sanding - just out with the ladder and slop on some paint.

Lt Col sir,

The most consistent complaint in France is the appalling quality and extortionate price of paint. Your description of yoor painting activity will make all of us green with envy

Well the shutters are wooden, good quality and only a couple of years old. They were primed and top-coated with a good quality water-based exterior paint. The trouble is the painter applied the top coat far too thickly so it has runs and brush marks, plus it has bubbled in the sun and lifted off. I suspect the water-based primer was not keyed in properly and/or was applied too thickly as well. It's a big job with a total of 32 "vantaux" or panels to be painted on both sides.

I just use a sandolin type product ( a water based product) so no need for stripping.

I just paint every two or three years. Haven't done it for three years as I haven't had my wife present to shout at me before I fall out of the window.

Maybe I should have stripped the wood as I don't know what was there before, but it wasn't paint and I am more interested in preservation than good looks

Just for clarification - does that refer to you or the shutters?