Varnishing Banisters

Nikkisun

Ok - so it's taken 4 weeks but I've finally stripped and sanded 30odd years worth of paint off my banisters!!

I've stained them with Colron wood dye which says you should coat it with clear lacquer - do I have to?

I know the idea is to give the wood a protective coating but I really don't want a 'varnished' look - I love the way the wood looks now.

macman

You don't have to use a high-gloss sealer like a gloss varnish-but you do want something to stop the unsealed wood picking up dirt and grease.

Nikkisun

Thanks - any suggestions as to what else I could use?

keystone

Wax them then.

Cheers

puddy

sorry to hijack this thread, but if this has already been done to bannisters (including high gloss shiny varnish on the actual handrail)

how does one go about getting them white gloss, do you have to strip it all back or can you prime it and then paint over it with white?

we need to do our stairs, they are sort of orange pine which i presume was bought like that, its matt finish, whether waxed or not i couldnt say

puddy

hi, im bumping this to see if theres any ideas about painting over 'orange' looking pine that i have on my bannisters?

macman

If it's waxed, you'll have to remove it first before painting.
If it's varnished, just key it by a light sanding before priming.
Test a small area first.

puddy

how do you test it, how would i know whether its waxed and how to remove it, sorry to sound dim but woodwork is not my area of expertice!

im itching to start but it will be a big horrible job

i thought i also heard that if you paint over varnish the white paint will yellow, is it enough to key it as you say?

macman

Rub it with a rough cloth, if the colour comes off it's probably not matt varnished.
It could just have been stained and left unsealed.

puddy

actually it looks stained (the matt bit) and i wonder if the other bit is stained but then with gloss varnish over the top (clear)

how do you get staining out?

macman

You can't, because it's not just a surface coating.