Painting fireplace mantle

djt0607

Hi,

I am not sure if there is a forum dedicated to my post topic but if so please move.

So I moved into a house a while ago. The fireplace mantle is wood, stained and varnished. I want to turn this to white. My idea was to lightly sand, apply 2 coats of primer and then spray 3 coats of heat resistant white paint. My question is though...when sanding...do I have to just lightly sand the surface with maybe 120 grit sand paper and then apply primer or do I need to thoroughly sand it and get rid of every little bit of wood stain and varnish on the surface? This will take a good while as my mantle has lots of designs/nooks and crannies in there.

Thanks, in advance, for your replies.

D

10-10-20

Hi, as you are planning on using a primer you just need to roughen up the surface with a medium to fine grit such as a 100 grit or similar. Sanding foam pads are ideal for this. The paint used on the wood does not need to be fire resistant, but some heat resistance would be good for colour retention (ie in case the heat yellows it). Use a roller as much as possible - that is the trick to ensuring a clean finish in my book.

Kalimah

We did this and it turned out really well. Just lightly sanded - can't remember if we used a roller!

djt0607

OK. Thank god I don't gotta sand it right down to the bare wood...would taken ages.

Thanks for the reply guys. 😉