How to/should I remove paint from the overhangs

Double sided tape has a drawback. Well, it has two drawbacks.

• It falls off when you least want it to do so.
• It sticks like crazy when you want to remove it.

Having said that, you probably tore off more than just a layer of paint. I'll bet you actually tore off the surface layer of paper on the drywall.

Can you repair this by just painting over the spot? Well, it depends. Will anyone ever look at it? Sorry, but it will be painfully obvious what you did. So this depends on how critical the observer is. If I was your landlord and I saw a poorly done patch when you were moving out, I'd mutter a few obscenities under my breath, then quietly mention to you about how you just forfeited your security deposit.

The problem is that paint won't match that well. The color difference will be obvious. Plus, due to the hole in the surface, there will be small shadows that will be quite obvious, so you will need to fill in the surface so it is smooth, BEFORE painting. Anyway, if you tried to paint in just that small area with a brush, one would easily see the texture differences from painting with a brush compared to what was an original roller applied paint surface.

All of this means you really will need to spackle over the hole, feathering it out over the surface of the wall at least a few inches in each direction, and then sand smooth. Once you have done this far enough out, repainting the entire wall will make sense anyway.

Lessons to be learned:

• Either don't use double sided tape,
• or, be much more careful removing it if you do. This usually means to use a solvent that will break down the adhesive, but not the surface of your wall. They sell stuff to do this, usually called something like Goo-Gone. Another solvent that often works is rubbing alcohol. It evaporates quickly, and does not attack paint, although it will harm some surfaces like shellac. Always test any solvent on a small, inconspicuous spot before using it. And watch out for fumes, so use good ventilation.

If the present paint on the doors is indeed sticking very well and the surface finish is conducive to overcoating then I would recommend a process to fill in the peeled out areas with a spackle or drywall mud. Apply one of these materials with a putty knife, let it dry and then lightly sand to get a smooth even surface. Sometimes it is necessary to apply a second coat of the filler.

You can perform some tests of how well the existing paint is adhering to the wood. Near the existing chipped out areas look to see if the nearby edges of paint would easily pop off if picked at with a knife point or other sharp object. You can also use an aggressive tape such as Gorilla Tape and see if a quick removal of the tape would peel away additional paint. If peeling is apparent then you will have to remove the old paint.

If it turns out that you would have to remove the paint completely from the old doors you would likely want to consider the use of paint stripper. This is a jelly like liquid that you apply to the paint with a brush. It will soften the paint so that it can be easily scraped off. It may require several applications of the paint stripper to get all the paint off - especially if there had been multiple coats previously applied. Steel wool can be used to remove softened paint on edges, corners and curved areas where a scraper does not work very well.

Paint stripper is pretty noxious stuff so use in well ventilated area and wear applicable protective gear to keep yourself safe. Stripper can burn your skin and be very harmful to eyes so make sure that the gear includes good rubber gloves and face shield.

Sanding is another method to remove old paint - however if the paint on theses doors is very very old there is a possibility that it is lead bearing paint. If this is the case it is not recommended that you sand the paint at all and consider other alternatives to provide for containment of the lead based paint.