Painting stained varnished bannister

steve1500

Does anyone know if there are any primers on the market that can be applied directly to a dark stained varnished bannister instead of having to sand use nitromors etc.


So I can then paint


TIA

jcb208

You need to rub it down to get a good key for the primer,Zinsser is proberbly one of the best to use.Rub down with about 180 grit oxide paper

mttylad

It will end in tears....

Trying to bypass good preparation, sanding down & removing the old coatings will just leave you with a rail that will eventually flake when it gets friction on it as people travel downstairs.

An electric sander will make quick work of rubbing it down.

TheCyclingProgrammer

Ignore the post above. Spending ages rubbing down and removing the varnish isn't necessary. Zinsser BIN (shellac based) will do a good job. It will stick to pretty much anything without any sanding although giving it a light sand and a wipe down with some white sprit won't do any harm either. Two coats of Zinsser followed by a light sand with some medium grit, then undercoat and paint, sanding between coats. Take your time. The first coat of Zinsser wont look great. The second will go on much easier.

I've successfully painted some dark brown upvc Windows and an orange stained pine staircase using this method, with acrylic undercoat and eggshell as the topcoat, with great success. No flaking.

mttylad

No - Ignore the post above this one.

Rub it down first.

Zisser Bin may be good but there is no replacement for a good key and rubbing it down to provide that roughness is the only way, whatever is applied after that will need something to key to - if it does not even Zinsser can come off in time & with the amount of manhandling a banister rail will get.

spo2

TheCyclingProgrammer wrote: »

Ignore the post above. Spending ages rubbing down and removing the varnish isn't necessary. Zinsser BIN (shellac based) will do a good job. It will stick to pretty much anything without any sanding although giving it a light sand and a wipe down with some white sprit won't do any harm either. Two coats of Zinsser followed by a light sand with some medium grit, then undercoat and paint, sanding between coats. Take your time. The first coat of Zinsser wont look great. The second will go on much easier.

I've successfully painted some dark brown upvc Windows and an orange stained pine staircase using this method, with acrylic undercoat and eggshell as the topcoat, with great success. No flaking.

I have done this as well to paint a varnished wood chair. I didn't do any rubbing down either and it has never chipped.

I used this:
http://www.diy.com/rooms/zinsser-bin-white-primer-undercoat-1l/38767_BQ.prd#

Read the reviews on the page.

TheCyclingProgrammer

Zinsser BIN is designed to be used without sanding but if you want to waste your time rubbing it down when you don't need to then by all means do.

pendragon_arther

Ignore everyone else's posts ;0). You can use liquid sander, wash down with sugar soap, rinse, paint undercoat, then one-coat overcoat.

mttylad

Ignore us all - do your own research.