help painting stairs please

[ProteaMan]

Hi all, wondering if anyone could offer me some help and advice. A coupe of years ago I had my hallway redecorated and the dark wood bannister etc was undercoated and painted with eggshell white ( I had a professional decorater in to do this)

since then, and with the help of my 2 young daughters, the bannister etc is chipped in quite a few places and the dark is showing through. Am I correct in assuming that I need to rub down the whole bannister, handrail etc and will I have to undercoat the whole thing before painting or can I just undercoat the patches (none are bigger than 1cm) or do I have to undercoat the whole thing?

My second question is, does anyone have any hints or tips on ensuring that I do not get any paint on the carpet as I will need to paint below the carpet line on each stair?

sorry about the long post and I hope I have "painted" a clear enough picture.......

Thanks

 

[Robbie uk]

You wont need to undercoat the whole bannister. Just spot prime and undercoat the chipped bis and finish the whole thing with your chosen finish. To paint down to the carpet use masking tape and pull off before the paint dries.