edwardian staircase with pics

[istherelifeafter40]

I am determined to restore our staircase and would appreciate knowledgeable advice. Our banisters are currently painted - paint peeling off at the borrow. I've removed (well, tried to) paint from three of them, and I think they are varnished underneath - a really nice, deep burgundy colour.
Question1 : Can I paint them over the varnish in a similar colour paint? I don't think I'll ever be able to strip them off various paints sufficiently to varnish them again. And what kind of paint will stick?
Question 2: Why is white paint peeling off? Kind of related to the previous question
Question 3: Do I need to strip all the banisters of paint or can I just strip the lowest parts and repaint the rest? It is such a pain to remove paint.
Question 4: what kind of instruments should I use to strip paint - I was using scraper after a water-based paint remover, but I think I might have introduced some deep scratches

When we moved in a couple of years ago, all builders said: replace banisters. I think they re beautiful and I prepared to do a slow DIY on them
Should I do banisters first and steps next? What do I do with the wood in-between the floors - visible on photos - strip paint as well?
If we replace floors in the house later, will it be a problem with the banisters on the upper floor?

So many question, would really appreciate collective knowlege here. Many thanks

sorry for many typos

That's a big job OP! I stripped the bannisters and balusters in our Victorian house years ago and it took forever - and they weren't fancy ones like yours. I remember dipping string in paint remover to get into the mouldings on the newel posts... I suspect your paint is peeling because the surface wasn't prepared properly when they were first painted.

Paint removers have improved greatly since I spent weeks stripping ours - I think it would be worth you researching that. Good luck - it will be worth it!

is the peeling paint a water paint?

@PigletJohn That's the thing, I don't know. How do I find out?

@Knittedfairies Thank you! I haven't done much DIY and am wondering where I even find out what would be considered a good preparation for painting those banisters

paint strippers don't work on water paint, but it doesn't adhere well anyway.

Am following as we have exactly the same issue with a Victorian staircase!

I just wonder if it is more practical to dismantle the bannister and send it all to a specialist such as this:
premiumdoorstripping.co.uk/price-list/

If you are going to dismantle it I would just put in new wood, surely that would be cheaper?!

I did this is a previous house...very similar Edwardian staircase . I stripped all the spindles using a heat gun...it took weeks (worked on it weekends and after work some nights). It had layers and layers of thick discoloured paint but it came up beautifully and I just repainted them all white.

The extremely lazy way to do it, which looks fine from a distance but gives itself away up close, is:

Zinser Peel-Stop primer - stops flaky and peeling paint peeling, it’s magic
Then a coat of Dulux Super-Grip primer - some sort of primer magic that goes on anything, even gloss or plastic, and just WORKS
Two coats of your top colour

Up close you’ll see the faint ridges where you stripped some layers but not others, and future owners trying to strip back will HATE you, but it’s quick and it won’t peel and looks 99% great

more than 25 years ago I stripped some bannisters ( pretty sure lead paint but I did have a mask on ) Partly a flame gun thing but I was not skilful and ended up scorching the wood. After that there is some sticky thing you can paint on and it makes the paint bubble so you can scrape it off. But is is very unpleasant . I am sure technology has moved on. But this is a job where I would get a couple of quotes & see if one is affordable. . Painting bannisters yourself is a long job but better than getting the paint off - I think it will need all paint off and then a good sand before painting

I very much hope some one can advise you about how getting paint off bannister technology has moved on - Best of luck to you

I would stop trying to strip it all and sand and stabilise.

Use the zinser peel stop as pp said.

But then sand the ridges/edges where there are chips. Use some filler too until you have a smooth surface.
Then paint.

Honetly the stripping will take for ever.

I would also paint the wood between floors the same as the banisters.

If you want to do it properly i'd consider PeelAway 1 Paint Remover.

I used various peelaways in an extensive victorian renovation. It's incredible but insanely powerful stuff - wear proper kit.

I found it way better than burning the paint off.

Oh gawd I just painted all our stripped banisters as they were all splintery and rough
I think they look much better

I'm no expert, but I've recently stripped our Victorian front door and under an infinite number of white coats was a layer of reddish brown. In our case it was some sort of horrible laquer or varnish that the paint stripper turned into glue. Truly awful stuff. Quite old judging that it was the layer on top of the original door paint.

If you have time you could always try stripping a small area and see how you get on. Chemical stripper is messy but at least you don't need to worry about inhaling lead!
If you try Peel away as someone suggested you can order a sample pot and see how you get on.

Thanks everyone so much! I tend to agree to the thinking of stopping stripping and remedying what we have before painting over.

@steppemum what filler would you use - just decorators mate or is something more fitting?

@hotmeatymilk thank you so much for all your suggestions. We were trying to use eco paints in the house (Little Greene Paint Company) - do you know how toxic these products are and are there any alternatives?

In the morning I was prepared to spend months on the project, by the evening I am thinking, well, these kinds of houses are never going to be perfect.... Where is my stamina?

Ooh, lovely Little Greene. Your already fit staircase is going to slap.

I’m not sure, but I’m doing my own (much much crappier) staircase atm, though right now I’m in bed, so I’ll check the tins in the morning and see what their eco credentials are. I suspect “not very”. I mean they don’t smell noxious and you can wash the brushes with water, but beyond that no clue.

you asked about toxicity.

I've used Zinser stuff in a church hall, so we used a lot of it. The smell wasn't bad and dispersed really quickly. I know that is no guide to how toxic, but I don't think the peel stop is a nasty chemical.

As to filler, as it is on top of paint, I would use a standard decorating filler, polyfiller or similar. No need to use wood filler as it is on top of paint.
Get a small hand held electric sander (this will pay for itself 100x over if you are doing up a house.) Get the flat surfaces to be flat, so filler the chips and sand the ridges. That will give a decent finish. Much easier and quicker if you use an electric sander.

@steppemum and @hotmeatymilk and everyone who chipped in, thank you very much! I know feel it is actually doable

They are beautiful and I’m so glad you ignored the builders who said get rid!
I’m considering whether it’s worth stripping the paint off some of our Edwardian fireplaces but can’t decide if it’s worth the effort or not!

I really belive these sort of things should be nutured and preserved so I would consider two options,

1. Someone who comes in and professionally strips the paint.
2. Get a carpenter to take it all apart and have it stripped. The carpenter to reassemble it.

The cheap option is to replace it - don't do that!

One more thing, don't strip the bannister rail, there are years of hands smoothing that out and the patina that gives can't be recreated.

@Ghislainedefeligonde
I think it is, one can often reveal detail that years of paint has 'clogged up'.
I still regret getting rid of some old doors where you could see the carpenter's measurements when he had made the doors, after a builder had said it would be easier (to him I realise now) to get rid of them and put in some new ones.