Sanding stairs

Degsy

The lunatic who i bought the house from thought it would be a good idea to gloss the stairs white.I've tried paint stripper with limited results and i've bought a small pretty useless orbital sander.Its taking forever and i was wondering if its feasible to hire a sander to do the stairs and if so how much would one cost to hire?

kadman

Degsy wrote:

The lunatic who i bought the house from thought it would be a good idea to gloss the stairs white.I've tried paint stripper with limited results and i've bought a small pretty useless orbital sander.Its taking forever and i was wondering if its feasible to hire a sander to do the stairs and if so how much would one cost to hire?

Hi Degsy,

Any sander you could hire is going to be too big and awkward to use on a stairs, and will do more harm than good. A good quality paint stripper like Nitromors, should have no problem in stripping ordinary gloss. Try again.

Sanding should be considered a last resort in this case. You would need to sand in the same direction as the grain, and not across it. And on a stairs this is very hard to do. Any cross sanding, and then staining or varnishing on top of it, will highlight the cross grain marks and look awful.

A good sharp cabinet makers scraper will do the job also. If you have to use a sander, a small sander with a triangular pad will get into all the tough spots.

But I would have another go at stripping.

kadman

mad m

Just a note,are you sure the stairs is white deal? I have seen stairs made out of MDF,maybe thats why he painted it in first place?

Get your reading glasses on and have a look here

Degsy

Nah,the stairs are some kind of light-brown,tough wood.The house was built in 1965.They were only glossed on the sides so i presume there was a carpet down the middle at some stage..

kadman

Degsy wrote:

Nah,the stairs are some kind of light-brown,tough wood.The house was built in 1965.They were only glossed on the sides so i presume there was a carpet down the middle at some stage..

Light brown tough wood, could be teak, or maybe mahogany. There could be a gem under that paint then,

Is there any sample here that looks like it,


http://www.refinishfurniture.com/wood_samples.htm


kadman

mad m

Id get a couple if Shave hooks also,this will help some in the removal of the paint after strippers is applied,also get some rough grade steel wool.One is shaped like a triangle and the other type is like a triangle but has a curved end to get into moulds like the nap of your stairs.

If its only the sides that are painted then its half the battle..check link to see what shave hooks are like.

http://www.tool-up.co.uk/shop/diy/scan/se=7640/sf=cat

GreeBo

Hey, Im looking to do something similar, though currently the banisters are varnished and we want to paint them.
The treads are carpet and will remain so.
Will I need to strip the varnish or should I just be able to rough it up a bit with some fine sandpaper to allow the white gloss to stick properly?

Cheers.

mad m

GreeBo wrote:

Hey, Im looking to do something similar, though currently the banisters are varnished and we want to paint them.
The treads are carpet and will remain so.
Will I need to strip the varnish or should I just be able to rough it up a bit with some fine sandpaper to allow the white gloss to stick properly?

Cheers.

Yup,get a bale of steel wool and a pair of heavy gloves and tear of some steel wool and wrap it around spindels/handrail/threads&rises,and rub till the gloss is gone from varnish before painting.And before painting dampen a cloth with some white spirits and give it a rub down,especially handrail to degrease it.

Degsy

kadman wrote:

Light brown tough wood, could be teak, or maybe mahogany. There could be a gem under that paint then,

Is there any sample here that looks like it,


http://www.refinishfurniture.com/wood_samples.htm


kadman

Kadman,
Not really,they seem to be somewhere between pine and oak colour wise and very close grained.I think they may be teak or oak,ceratinly not pine as they're way too tough.The colour is such that i dont think i'll stain them but they're two differnt colours..underneath the paint is very light and the area not painted is slightly darker due to ageing.Any ideas on how to make them the same colour.Incidently,i have been sanding prior to my sander blowing up and its having no appreciable affect on the appearance of the grain..

GreeBo

cool, thats what I wanted to hear
The missus wanted to use paint stripper but I think thats unneeded hassle and mess if we are going to be painting over....
Thx.

kadman

Degsy wrote:

Kadman,
Not really,they seem to be somewhere between pine and oak colour wise and very close grained.I think they may be teak or oak,ceratinly not pine as they're way too tough.The colour is such that i dont think i'll stain them but they're two differnt colours..underneath the paint is very light and the area not painted is slightly darker due to ageing.Any ideas on how to make them the same colour.Incidently,i have been sanding prior to my sander blowing up and its having no appreciable affect on the appearance of the grain..

Any chance of a pic, we could then identify the timber for you. A close grained timber could be sapele or mahogany. Oak would be regarded as a course grained timber.

The differing shades of colour would be easily sorted. You need to get a woodstain similar or lighter in colour, than your darkest timber appearence.
One or two coats on the lighter shade timber, until you reach the shade required. Go easy though as you don't want to go too dark, otherwise you will have to darken the other , dark timber.

Best to try in a concealed area first, and let completely dry, before you do the lot. A stain only is what you need, not a varnish and stain combined. Stain first , then varnish.

kadman