Painting over Varnish

[TPB]

Hi I recently moved into a house with mahogany stained (varnished) stair rails/spindles (which I hate) what is the best way to remove this as i want them painting white

 

[Zampa]

Hi I recently moved into a house with mahogany stained (varnished) stair rails/spindles (which I hate) what is the best way to remove this as i want them painting white

You will need to give them a really good and thorough sanding down, every bit of them..wash them well with sugar soap and/or white spirit....especially where the hands rub up and down them to remove greasy deposits.

The give them a coat od melamine primer or dulux super or ultra grip primer, paint doesnt not take to varnished surfaces very well......so you really must primer them.

Then decorate with a couple of coats of undercoat and gloss satin wood.

If your reallt thinking about stripping the paint off them, then think about removing them and having them dipped...ir better still pit new ones in...the time and money you will spend stripping them will justify dipping/new ones.

Even as a decorator I wouldnt even consider stripping spindles by hand in my own place.

I have ben to so many jobs to give people quotations who have started stripping then got cheesed off with it....leaving a quarter stripped staircase.

 

[samola]

I have just bought a second hand dressing table which is varnished with antique pine. I have just lightly sanded it and the top layer appears to be coming off quite easily. Is that enough to give it a key for a primer? Do I need to use aluminium primer or is any primer ok? Thank you