I want to paint my bannisters

[PerambulationFrustration]

Is it going to look shit if I do it myself?
I'm willing to try as I got quoted a stupid amount and thought how hard can it really be?

It’s not difficult!

Sand them so the paint sticks.

Sand any lumps when dry

Second coat.

If you prep carefully and do it carefully it should be fine.

It takes a long time though! That's why the quotes are high.

The shape of your banisters will affect how much of a mind bending faff it is.

I used rustoleum kitchen cabinet paint (v little prep required). Two coats to go from dark brown to white.

Thanks for the tips.
The shape of mine are pretty simple so I don't think it's too difficult and I have plenty of time over the Christmas period.

My DH, who does all that kind of stuff for us, said to 'be sure' to use TSP, or another de-greasing agent, to degrease the bannister before painting. It's to take the oil from the hands that typically hold the bannister in the same places, so that the paint will stick well to the wood.

You can do it! It's fiddly and takes ages but you can do it.

My DF and I painted the banisters and spindles in their Victorian villa when I was younger. We washed, sanded down, rewashed and painted. I really enjoyed it and once it's done you have a real sense of achievement.

I've painted our lounge and it's taken forever (and I've still got the baseboards to go) but it's saved me a fortune.

Do you need to sand if you are repainting the same colour? I was going to use water based gloss. This is on my to do list since Summer.

I did ours, make sure you use a good primer in a similar colour to the paint.

I used a sock with a latex glove underneath, saved ages compared to using a brush!

I'm a painting-everything-myself veteran. Your post has made me relieved I don't have an open staircase anymore! The spindles are a pain in the ass to paint expecially if they are the rounded ones.

Don't let that put you off though! There's no reason you can't do a great job!

I used a sock with a latex glove underneath,
good heavens

You can buy painting mitts

who knew!

Painting the actual hand rail a different colour(to the spindles) looks fab.

It's doable. It's a very fiddly job but if you do the preparation well it makes it easier. Bit of a tip, use a gloss roller for the flat bits.

We recently did ours. DH stripped the hand rails and varnished them and the rest is white - it looks smashing!

If you want a recommendation for paint we used the Crown " Once" satinwood. I would advise against fully shiny gloss paint . The satin wood has a much nicer finish.

I'd use trade satinwood paint. The trade stuff is usually more pigment dense, thicker and quicker drying.

@Dontlletmedownbruce sanding is not to take to old paint off, it's just a gentle rub to smooth out any small bumps and to key the surface so the new paint sticks. If you don't then it will chip off much more easily.

Don't paint the bannister though, only the balusters.

Omg thanks for all these tips.
Painting mitts and socks! Amazing.
Luckily, my spindles are four sided straight columns.
It's varnished light wood at the moment, pine I think. I want to paint it to update it and transform my hallway, and was thinking of a black and white combination.

Varnish might be an issue as it might bleed through the paint. I haven't painted over varnish before. Maybe someone else can advise? I would guess you would at the very least need an undercoat or primer.

Use a good primer such as Zinsser BIN first then two coats of your chosen top coat. I've done this when painting previously varnished wood and it works for bare wood too. If you sand before priming and wash down you should get a really good finish and remove dust and dirt instead of painting over muck.

Watching with interest it took some effort to sand and strip paint from the handrail. I'm dreading the spindles