Painting staircase

Blues14

So I want to paint staircase white I priced around for a painters to do it but what there quoting if ridiculous so I’m going to do it myself.so I’m asking what’s the process sand primer and 3 coats?and what’s the best primer and paint to use?

thanks

10-10-20

We had ours done last Winter. It was a 2.5-day job for one painter due to the intricacies and needing to patch small holes/dents and sand.

The primer is important but so is the surface prep. Sand it all down and use a good quality wood primer - our painter used a quick-drying primer (from https://www.donnellymanufacturing.com/) with a small roller to do the banisters and newel posts.

Then just put whatever shade of white on top of that in 3 coats.

Blues14

Ok so i bought rays primer for the undercoat what grit sandpaper will I use does anyone know?

NewClareman

You need to consider:

1. How good your current surface is. If it is pretty good I'd just use 120 grit for the initial sanding and 240 grit between coats. If it's pretty poor then you may need to start with 80 or even 60 grit and work towards the 120.
2. The current finish: if it is varnish you need to use a shellac primer, or else sand back to bare wood.
3. The durability of the finish: it's worth buying a quality paint that should last for years. (Painting a stairs is a big job and you want something that will put up with wear and tear.)

Black_Knight

Sanding, so much sanding. We (I) sanded our varnished stairs banister, primed and painted it white, while staining the hand rail. It's a long and boring process if your spindles are detailed. Looks great now, but not something I'd look forward to doing again

Blues14

The surface is good just have to sand back the varnish so you think 120grit ?

SEPT 23 1989

If there is a hell it will be painting spindles on a staircase

cleaning with sugar soap

sanding

harris brushes

primer

Dulux Undercoat

Dulux High Gloss Brilliant White

I would wait until the weather warms up so you can leave windows open and for drying time

NewClareman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120397926#Comment_120397926

Yeah, that's what I used. I forgot to mention the sugar soap, which you use before sanding. If you don't you will push any grime right in to the grain of the wood I used sugar soap wipes.

Sanding back to bare wood is an awful lot of work - think in days. Then think of all the dust, it is not for the faint hearted. If you don't do this preparation work there is every chance the paint will chip after a while. (Trust me you don't want to be in that situation.) hIn theory you don't need to sand if you use a shellac primer. I didn't risk that, but neither did I sand right back to bare wood. One year on and so far, so good. Just as well as no way will I ever paint a bannisters again.

Shellac paint has the consistency of milk and dries very fast. On doors I used a roller, which worked great. On the spindles I used a really good Harris brush and worked as fast as I could. I practiced outdoors first, on some old skirting I was throwing out. It was worth doing this, just to get the hang of it. It is lethal stuff that really sticks, so be sure to cover everything and use gloves.

Blues14

Looks like I’m in for some fun so😀thanks for taking time to reply 👍🏻

NewClareman

The good news is that there is a great sense of achievement when it's all done. Happy painting.