Painting doorframes - silly qn?

[Krong]

Moved into a house that has tan coloured wood doorframes. They're varnished I guess in that they're shiny, and they're solid wood.
Yes I am a complete novice!!! Never needed to do any DIY before, not even painting!
So, is it possible to paint these (just want to make them white) , and what do I need to do? Is it a small sand over and some primer, or do I need to get them off and use an actual sander?
Anyone with experience of doing this?

Just sand with sandpaper then under coat and gloss/satinwood, may take a few coats depending on how dark the varnish is and how good the undercoat is.

You'll usually need to sand them down to take the shine off at least. This could possibly be done by hand, but sanding can be long and laborious if it's layers and layers of varnish on there. Our sander was a brilliant investment and i'd recommend one if you have similar projects to do.

If you sand back to the bare wood you'll then need to seal the wood to prevent knots bleeding through. I think you can get primer/sealer/undercoats in one.

varnish is not a goos surface to paint over. I think you will need a special primer.

AFAIK Zinsser make the best.

See www.zinsseruk.com/howto/paint-woodstained-varnished-surfaces/