Tranforming old bannister

[locket]

Hi everyone first post so bare with me! Not very DIY savvy so need some advice. Our bannister/stair rails are mahogany brown and do not match the rest of the house which has white doors/skirting boards. Ive been wanting to paint it white for ages. I keep seeing people with no particular DIY experience restoring old furniture to vintage style to make money and thought well it cant be that hard right?

It hasn't been varnished since the house was built so 12 years or so ago. So luckily its faded so shouldn't be as hard to sand down a bit. So what steps do I need to take? Sand down, (how much?) completely or just get a coat of varnish off? Then I guess it needs priming, undercoating and painting. Is that enough? I see knotting solutions mentioned in some places do I need to do this first? Thanks for any advice

 

[Haggis61]

Hi locket

I built a new house about 15 years ago, and the bannister and spindles were all stained mahogany (it was sort of in at the time!).

Well I decided it was a bit old fashioned looking, and the joiner hadn't made a great job of fitting it. So I prised off the spacers between the spindles top and bottom, and carefully knocked out the spindles! Quite drastic, but it was the only way I was going to get a good job.
I filled in the stray hammer marks and errant nail holes on the spindles with a wood filler and then sanded down each spindle. Not taking all of the mahogany off but smoothing them down all over.
I then gave them two coats of undercoat and one top coat, which was easy and quick with the spindles all out. Result, about 50 perfect spindles.
While the spindles were out I rubbed down the posts, banisters and rails and gave them a fresh coat of an oak stain.

I then replaced all of the spindles and packers.

The contrast between the white spindles and stained bannister is very smart.

Now I'm not suggesting that you have to go to such lengths, just letting you know what I did, and that it's not that hard to do. But I guess that depends on the condition of your staircase.

So, rub down to key the surface and remove any rough areas, one or two coats of undercoat (I use Johnson's), and a coat of white gloss. No knotting solution needed unless you have some weeping knotted areas.

Good luck (and your right, none of this stuff is that hard, just a little thought, good preparation and patience).

 

[Robbie uk]

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Hers one i did !