sanding down skirting boards & stairs

pinkfloyd34

im just about to paint the banister on the stairs and all skirting in the house, its bare wood at the moment, does it need to be sanded down first or can i just apply the under coat and gloss with out sanding it? done abit of sanding already and its probably the most annoying job i've ever done

slimjimmc

Depends on what sort of finish you want after all that painting. If you want a nice smooth paint finish then you need to start with a nice smooth wood finish. If you don't mind marks from planing and rough grain showing through on the painted finish then don't bother. Imo, the latter looks like crap so I'd take the time and effort to get the wood reasonably smooth.

Buford T Justice

+1

It needs a sanding down to do a proper job of it.

pinkfloyd34

thanks people, looks like i'll just have to get stuck in

cardwizzard

No is the answer.I presume that these are new timbers and not varnished before? If they are new, clean and dust them, apply one coat of undercoat maybe let it out with a little white spirits.. This will let you see what condition the woodwork is in. When dry fill where needed and don't be afraid to use filler where ever necessary. Then sand all filler and woodwork.

Apply a second pure undercoat, lightly sand when dry and caulk. Finally apply topcoat of gloss or satin etc.

dave1982

Yeah i'd go with sanding it down also, but it will create a big mess dust gos everywhere so make sure all doors are closed and masked to prevent dust going under door.Happened me before :rolleyes:

bryaner

I did my mates stairs recently (originally pine) just under coated with primer and then covered with many coats of satin wood, came out great with no sanding..

Happyman42

cardwizzard wrote: »

No is the answer.I presume that these are new timbers and not varnished before? If they are new, clean and dust them, apply one coat of undercoat maybe let it out with a little white spirits.. This will let you see what condition the woodwork is in. When dry fill where needed and don't be afraid to use filler where ever necessary. Then sand all filler and woodwork.

Apply a second pure undercoat, lightly sand when dry and caulk. Finally apply topcoat of gloss or satin etc.

Good advice here....putting on a thin coat will also raise fibres in the wood and make them easier to sand.
Don't believe anybody who tells you that 'one coat' will do or that you don't need sandpaper.