How "perfect" does wood finish need to be to re-paint?

[TCX]

I have a horrible feeling I know the answer to this, but my aching arms demand I check! I am in the process of sanding back a wooden mantlepiece that had a couple of layers of old paint on it. Most of the top layer came off with chemical stripper (marvellous stuff!) and now I am in to the sanding to get through to the wood. After several hours I am now back to bare wood on approximately one-tenth of the overall area!! My question is this - do I have to get back to bare wood over the whole thing before I can paint it again and expect to get a reasonable result, or is it sufficient to get to a "flat surface" (i.e. sanded so there are no loose flakes, bumps etc) and then use some sort of primer so the subsequent topcoat sticks?

I'm not going for the natural wood finish (thankfully!) and just want to get to a point where I can get a good finish with white wood gloss. Do I need to spend the next three months of my life sanding it full-time in order to get there? I will if I have to, but I'd REALLY rather not

[rsser]

No!

Depends on how smooth a surface you want to be starting with and how 'immaculate' you want the result.

Often a good sand is all you need, leaving most of the paint in tact but providing a 'key' for the first coat of new paint. You don't need to go back to bare wood at all.

[TCX]

Oh thank the Lord (and you!) Off to de-flake and then put the sanding equipment away then!!

Going for a "rustic" country kitchen look so don't need immaculate at all - just not "huge lumps of paint coming off and falling on the range".

Cheers!

[rsser]

Glad to be of help TCX.

Yeah, as long as it's not flaking and the surface is smooth and clean, just do an undercoat/sealer coat and you're off.

[munruben]

your paint finish will only be as good as the surface you are working on. The smoother the surface, the better the finish. Its worth the effort to do a little extra sanding.

[rsser]

True, but once smooth, sound and clean any further effort isn't needed; in fact going to bare wood makes for more work.