help on redoing staircase
 

looking for some tips on how to turn white staircase rail and landing rail from white, (been white for over 20 years bout ten coats of gloss) to hopefully a finish that looks like pine

I know someone who recently stripped heavily painted wood right back to the bare wood. They used a type of thing (don't know proper name for it ) it looks like a hairdryer (think it was bought in lidl/aldi ) not expensive, and it just burned/melted paint from wood and was easily scraped off. Much better than nitramors (sp) and less messy. Would imagine you would get similar in DIY shop.

help
 

thanks for that advice will check it out

Re: stairs
 

Hi,

I think what smokeyeyes is talking about, is a blow-lamp. They are great for removing heavy old paint however unless you are extremely careful, I would be reluctant to use one myself especially indoors, a blow-lamp can be quite dangerous unless used professionally.

This is just my opinion & i'm open to correction.

Best of luck with project.

Regards,
Bunty

stairs
 

there is a chemical called nitromore not sure on spelling in any hardware. Very good. but strong u need black rubber gloves. put in a dish not plastic and dab on with paint brush. u will c the paint life stright a way. scrape off with a paint scraper and then sand. works wonders

Hi Yvoflyer

I have done this before on a couple of occasions ( for myself and then for my sister who loved the job I had done ) It can be quite time consuming but worth it in the end . What you need is a heat gun ( they are not as dangerous as a blow lamp ) they are around €30 in argos. You just heat the paint and follow behind it with a scrapper and the paint just falls off , then to remove any last bits of paint you will need to apply paint stripper , nitromors is very good but get the gel kind it stays on better , dash it on a smal area at a time with a small paint brush and leave for a couple of minutes then remove with rough wire wool. After you have all the paint off wash all the wood down with white spirits , it will clean it up and also neutralise the paint stripper. Finally sand it all down and varnish .

A couple of words of warning - wear thick rubber gloves when using paint stripper , it will burn you if you get any on your skin and lastly do not go near the paint stripper with the heat gun - as the fumes that it can give off if heated are highly dangerous .

That's the thing I was trying to think of name for. Heat Gun. But when I seen it used they didn't need to use nitramors, paint came clean away. Maybe just give wood a good sanding with either fine wire wool or one off those block sanders. And as Narki says rub wood down with white spirits. By the way the heat gun I heard of was only arount €7 in Lidl, so would be worth keeping an eye out for.

Heatgun
 

Hi Aldi has a heatgun this week for €14.99


http://www.aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/2867_6823.htm

Thanks
 

thanks to all of u looking forward to gettin it started now

WARNING: If the paint is 20 years old, it will be lead based, so if your going to strip it with a heat gun, invest in a really good face mask, it will be worth it.

stairs
 

Kernow is right , if using a heat gun wear a good quality breathing apparatus / mask . Not the cheapest one . How much is your your lung protection worth ? It will be a time consuming job to strip it all especially the nooks and crannies . You might prefer to grain the lot . Either sand it all just enough to remove the glossy sheen (to give the paint a 'key' or 'grip' ) Or you can use a product from good paint shops called ' Gloss off' . Rub on with a cloth and it will remove the glossy sheen ( and from anything you spill it on )
Then apply two coats of oil based undercoating paint .To achieve a light oak finish , use a cream undercoat. To make a pine, teak or mahogany finish use pink oil based undercoat paint.
Next go to a paint shop and get a small tin of scumble . (a thick wood stain ) Oil based if possible , though new stock in shops might be water based . Which ever you use stir it well and add a drop of thinners (white spirits or water which ever the case ) Paint each string on the stairs or any small areas first with a 1 inch brush , then have another new 1 inch brush to ''grain'' the piece of wood .
Dip this brush first into the scumble and brush it out on a piece of waste material or cardboard Wipe it with an old cloth , and then lightly brush it down over area you've painted . Wipe off excess paint from around the area. Leave the handrail till last . Leave to dry . Protect from anyone touching before dry as cannot be touched up, really . Varnish over the next day , a few coats .. Take a photo for Jumbletown !!! ZZZzzzzzz........

stairs
 

Kernow is right , if using a heat gun wear a good quality breathing apparatus / mask . Not the cheapest one . How much is your your lung protection worth ? It will be a time consuming job to strip it all especially the nooks and crannies . You might prefer to grain the lot . Either sand it all just enough to remove the glossy sheen (to give the paint a 'key' or 'grip' ) Or you can use a product from good paint shops called ' Gloss off' . Rub on with a cloth and it will remove the glossy sheen ( and from anything you spill it on )
Then apply two coats of oil based undercoating paint .To achieve a light oak finish , use a cream undercoat. To make a pine, teak or mahogany finish use pink oil based undercoat paint.
Next go to a paint shop and get a small tin of scumble . (a thick wood stain ) Oil based if possible , though new stock in shops might be water based . Which ever you use stir it well and add a drop of thinners (white spirits or water which ever the case ) Paint each string on the stairs or any small areas first with a 1 inch brush , then have another new 1 inch brush to ''grain'' the piece of wood .
Dip this brush first into the scumble and brush it out on a piece of waste material or cardboard Wipe it with an old cloth , and then lightly brush it down over area you've painted . Wipe off excess paint from around the area. Leave the handrail till last . Leave to dry . Protect from anyone touching before dry as cannot be touched up, really . Varnish over the next day , a few coats .. Take a photo for Jumbletown !!! ZZZzzzzzz........

Sounds like a paint stripper.

There is a product you canbuy called 'paint and grain' and despite my scepticism with these easy to use products, I found it did 'exactly what it says on the tin'. I changed all the white paintwork to pine look in a bedroom, which included a pannelled door and carved moldings and architraves. The finish was very hardwearing and never had to do a touch up. Eibhlin. ps if you decide to use the heat gun and nitromors route, dental floss works very well for getting paint out of the carving on stair spindles.