How to paint over stained and varnished staircase

blondie21

I want to paint over my woodstained staircase . it is mahogany wood and has been stained several coats of stain and then varnished....what is the process i need to follow and also what is the best paint to use that will be hard wearing and will cover the dark wood .........
thanks

blondie21

hey anyone ???? need help here ....lol:)

aboard_epsilon

i wouldn't paint it ...i would get the sander out and strip it ...its only dark because of the amount of varnish on it ...
you will be surprised what beautiful wood hides underneath ...and it wont be so dark.

all the best.markj

System

we are doing just that -its a really long awkward and labour intensive job but so far so good .

busiscoming2

I swear by Nitromors, worked well on my stained windowcills!

ormus

if youre painting it then you must sand it down properly to get the varnish off.
or at least a good key on the varnish. use good old proper gloss paint.

but as above i would always strip it all off with a burner/sander. i prefer natural wood finish.
id never use chemical strippers indoors, unless it was an empty house.

aboard_epsilon

Yup, chemical strippers will give it a mottled finish...with some areas when you go on to finish it, absorbing more varnish and stain than other areas.

If you do insist on painting it ..get those foam sanding blocks ..they are about £1 for ten pack ...you will probably need 10 packs.

If varnishing it ..

You will have to make all sorts of little tools to get in the crevasis...warning here ...the best little tool you can make is from broken glass peices...be careful.

Sander that is preferred is a Bosch PEX dual action sander £45 ish with Velcro disks..........shop around ...market stalls may have the disc's in tens for £1...this will make easy work of the large areas.

Smaller areas need a detail sander ......the abrasives are not so readily available for these cheap.and the noise from them will drive you round the bend after a while.

Every little bit has to be down to the bare wood ..if any varnish or stain is left on.then your finished job will look rough.

It will take many hours to rub down the average stair case to bare wood ..probably in excess of 50 hours .

all the best..markj

leveller2911

Try these, a few of my decorators buddies have used Zinsser on old varnished work........You can get them via internet or most decent decorators merchants .........

http://www.zinsseruk.com/Shop/Product.aspx?cId=130&pgId=355
http://www.zinsseruk.com/Shop/Product.aspx?cId=130&pgId=354

Try using Oil based eggshell for a final colour, or Dulux Satinwood....


A retired friend of mine buys up old cheap tables and chests of drawers from Auctions, uses these primers (with little or no sanding) paints them and then sells them, usually making a decent profit...

blondie21

aboard_epsilon wrote: »

i wouldn't paint it ...i would get the sander out and strip it ...its only dark because of the amount of varnish on it ...
you will be surprised what beautiful wood hides underneath ...and it wont be so dark.

all the best.markj

Def want to paint it....done the natural wood bit in the house.......
:rotfl: