Painting stairs?
Question:I have hard wood, vardinshed open stairs. I want to paint the treads etc;
1.) what paint can I use
2.) how do I prepare the stairs.
Answers:
1) The only paint that will give you a good result here is a porch and floor paint. Oil based. Latex is available now, but it does not cure quite as hard. You will need to keep traffic off for at least a day, I would go for two, so the idea of painting every other step might be your best bet unless you have another way up and down.
2) Clean well. TSP (tri-soduim phosphate, available most places that sell paint) 1/2 cup per gallon water. Scrub with the solution, rinse well. Allow to dry completely.
After dry, sand lightly with 180 grit or so paper. Vacuum and wipe down with a tack cloth.
DO NOT PRIME! Everyone seems to want to prime or kilz everything, but you don't need it and in this case it may cause problems. Porch and floor paint is self-priming. You need to have a surface with just a bit of texture for it to bond properly (although it will bond over itself if you need to repaint later). Priming will fill in the light texture you create by sanding.
I would lightly sand them, then prime them, and then use a porch and floor paint. It's also a good idea to paint every second step, in case you have to use them before they're dry, and then do the alternating steps once the others are dry. Good luck!
To prep the stairs you will need to lightly scuff the varnished finish by sanding. This helps create a good bond with the paint. Then use a good bonding paint such as Zinzer 123 or another good bond coat paint as a primer. Once this is done, make sure you use a high quality paint that is durable for high traffic areas. Remember, you get what you pay for. Going with a cheaper paint will result in early wear, chipping, etc. and you will have to put more work into it, to fix the cheap paint problems.
To: be a lert
Using a good quality bonding paint not only bonds to the original finish, it creates an excellent bonding surface for the new paint. I have come through and had to refinish stairs that people tried to do as you are saying. The paint flakes and chips away without the good bonding primer. In this case, the cost quadruples because there is no way to stop the chipping without stripping both paint and old finish down to the bare wood. So you end up paying for the first paint job, then four times that for the second. I will never guarantee a paint job of this kind without a good bond coat.
you would have to sand the varnish off off the stairs. I don't know what type of paint would stand up to the abuse of being walked on all the time and still look good...you might talk to someone at the paint store and see what they recommend and if they have some sort of paint sealer that might help with durability.
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