How To Paint Stair Railing. Always make sure to sand the polyurethane before starting painting.
Painting over polyurethane requires patience time and effort.
How to paint over polyurethane stairs. My SOP with staircases is to stain and 1-2 coats of poly before installationPainted wood would get primed and 1 coat of enamel. After installation the wood would be puttied caulked if painted and the final coat of finish applied. This speeds up production and only ties up the stairs for 24 hrs.
It is very likely that you will be using a chemical to etch the polyurethane. When painting over polyurethane is important to provide excellent ventilation set up a fan and ALWAYS wear a respirator. Always read the labels as many oil paints stains lacquers and varnishes are extremely toxic.
Sanding is tiresome yet extremely important. Always make sure to sand the polyurethane before starting painting. As long as you follow these steps painting over polyurethane should be a problem of the past Fundamentally you must prepare the wood before starting the project.
Otherwise all the paint will eventually peel off. Sanding is especially important if you plan to stain the wood a different color instead of painting it. The stain cant be absorbed into the wood if theres a layer of protective coating on it.
When I refinished my dining table I used progressively finer grits of sandpaper to restore the wood to a. A quick visit to the paint department of your local store will reveal options like tung oil polyurethane mineral oil shellac lacquer wax varnish linseed oil etc to mention a few. The sheer volume of varieties and options would be your biggest challenge in getting the best finish that would not only protect your stairs from damage but have them looking good too.
Painting over polyurethane requires patience time and effort. Youll have to prime sand and use oil-based paint in order for your paint to stick to the finish of your wooden furniture. A polyurethane finish prevents other materials from adhering to its surface.
Why not use a white polyurethane or even a melamine product. I would not use regular latex enamel over poly on a railing. Only drawbacks to melamine are that it is brittle and chips.
And it is somewhat challenging to apply. You should have no trouble finding white poly at an industrial paint. You can apply polyurethane over any paint as long as the surface is clean and prepared well to receive the polyurethane coat.
It protects the paint from peeling and is easy to clean. Applying one or two coats of polyurethane over paint would be a great move more than that would be futile. Yes when you have already painted your stair risers its good to add an extra layer of protection by applying a coat of polyurethane over it.
The poly coat will help in protecting your stairs from heavy foot traffic that can cause the paint to crack and chip over time. Plus a coat of polyurethane on your stair risers will also give the hardwood a glossy sheen that makes it easy for you to do all the cleaning. Remove the tape on the uncoated steps after the paint has dried.
Paint each of these with three coats of polyurethane sanding between coats as you did for the previous steps. Using a battery operated sander and medium to coarse grit paper sand down the polyurethane or existing paint so a rough surface is present on the ENTIRE riser. It should look dull.
If you are sanding off chipped or existing paint FEEL with your hand to make sure the surface is smooth between the paint and the wood. How NOT To Paint Over Varnish - YouTube. A quick video showing why preparation is so important when it comes to changing from an oil or varnished surface to a painted oneIf you like this content.
Depending on the type of wood and condition of the stairs usually two or three coats of oil-based polyurethane are enough. However you need to be aware that it takes longer to dry. Also it can add an amber glow to the wood making it susceptible to brush marks.
The odor of oil-based polyurethane is stronger than that of the water-based variety. Painting A Hand Rail. How To Paint Stair Railing.
I decided to Polyurethane my stair treads first before painting the risers. We use these steps everyday they needed to be protected. When you go to paint the risers any paint that falls on the dried Polyurethane coat can be wiped away or if the paint has dried you can carefully use a razor blade to take the paint off.