Painting varnished handrail

[0Floz0]

Hey everyone,

I’m looking to paint my handrails to match the rest of the decor. They’re some type of wood, maybe pine or oak. They were originally varnished. I’ve sanded them back though.

Originally I tried zinsser 123 and then johnstones undercoat and then Johnstone’s satinwood quick dry. The finish was fine but it got very dirty very quickly and the paint wore off revealing the stain underneath.

This time I’ve sanded it back more. My plan is 1-2 coats of zinsser bin, followed by the satinwood, then probably something over the top of that for protection. I was thinking a clear Matt varnish like rustins quick dry polyurethane. But I’m worried this may yellow the appearance over time. Any recommendations on what to use and if this is the best approach? The rest of the stairs are painted in the satinwood. I heard water based varnish isn’t hard wearing enough for hand rails.

How much curing time would you give between each product? I know bin is recoatable in 45 mins but does it need to cure for longer before the satinwood is applied?

Cheers

 

[Wayners]

Waterbased paints can soften with skin oils but our handrail was coated with scuff-x satin and all good after 3 years.
I've had to clean off the black grime left from hands but all good.
Zinsser BIN
Acrylic primer undercoat
2 coats of scuff-x

Regarding paints
Water based alkids are said to be good at resisting skin oils

 

[Wayners]

Oh
Titan top coat maybe an option if you use something like Dulux.

All Wood Stains - Littlefair's – Littlefair's Wood Finishing Products https://share.google/iWOKi6bpUAl6wRWCE

 

[0Floz0]

Waterbased paints can soften with skin oils but our handrail was coated with scuff-x satin and all good after 3 years.
I've had to clean off the black grime left from hands but all good.
Zinsser BIN
Acrylic primer undercoat
2 coats of scuff-x

Regarding paints
Water based alkids are said to be good at resisting skin oils

Thanks Wayners. I’ve already got the johnstones primer and satinwood as I’ve done the skirtings and architraves in that. Would you say it’s not worth doing them with a top coat of varnish on it to keep costs down?

What did you use to get the black grime off from skin oils?

 

[Wayners]

You should use sugar soap to clean paint as it won't harm paint.
I didn't. I chose to use a little cif and microfiber cloth.
Then wash over with clean water