How do I repaint, painted stairs? Sand? Use paint stripper or just undercoat?

[Votersswing]

What do I do? I can't afford rug or carpet and I want a painted stair runner. Currently they are just painted in treads

Do I need sand? Strip off old paint or just cover it all with a paint cover

Can you post a pic?

Depends how bad they are, but it’s unlikely you’ll need to fully remove all the paint. Sand then fill, then primer/undercoat then topcoat is normally fine. You might want to use floor paint on the actual steps, don’t know. I have lots of painting experience but haven’t done floors before.

What’s the condition? If it’s in good nick you can probably paint over. If it’s chipped and scruffy, try a heat gun I think.

Just to add- do be careful if it’s lead based paint that’s on there. If it was last painted 40+ years ago there’s a chance it will be.

Thanks. The paint is OK but I want to have a different colour scheme altogether so maybe sand what I can and use undercoat?

And re radiator? Do I need a special paint on that?

If the surface isn’t too bad ie there’s no big flaking or bare patches, you’re looking at just sanding enough to take off any lumps or drip marks that might be there. You don’t have to remove tons of material. It’s about providing a good “key” for the primer/undercoat to stick to. Usually 80-120 grit paper is ok.

Wear a mask and have a vacuum cleaner to hand to keep the area as dust free as possible.

For undercoat/primer I’ve been using Leyland acrylic from screwfix, it’s cheap and does the job, but if you’re going for a deep colour you might be better off finding a dark grey equivalent, that one only comes in white I think.

And yes, use radiator specific paint, again, it’s not expensive and you’ll only need a little tin of it. Again, screwfix is where I got my last tin.

@Lonelycrab thank you so much.

I would give it a good wash to remove all grease. Your sanding job will be more efficient. Then prime and paint.

Unfortunately sanding is my weakest area I have a mouse sander but it doesn't seem to be very good and physical ailments mean I can't sand properly.
Hopefully the primer will be enough

If you don't sand your paint will not adhere properly. Be sure and give it a good clean and rinse at least. Sometimes this can replace sanding on areas that don't get much use. But even a light sanding would help immensely. Or get someone to do the prep work for you. Preparation is 90% of a good paint job.

@Whataretalkingabout is right OP, you will need to sand it otherwise the paint is just going to come away at the slightest knock, which on a high wear place like a staircase is going to happen really quickly. As has been said, you don’t need to sand loads of the old paint off, but it does need doing all over. If you skip this step (pun not intended lol) it’ll look really tatty very soon after doing it.