Painting a dark varnished staircase

[julianm]

That looks fantastic - well done. I`d get a turkey red carpet & some brass stair rods (more rubbing down!)

[B17NNS]

Looks great. I'd be tempted just to wax the handrail. And it's crying out for a whipped edged carpet and some chrome stair rods.

[mart 63]

If your handrails are oak, dont use oil as it will split the grain over time. I would use Dulux diamond satin water based clear varnish .
Nice job by the way.

[JackReacher]

julianm said:

That looks fantastic - well done. I`d get a turkey red carpet & some brass stair rods (more rubbing down!)

that's a bit loud isn't it! House is a "new build" in 2001, so not sure about brass stair rods, especially as I'm replacing the brass door and window handles around the house

Plan is to put a subtle grey/cream striped carpet as a runner up the stairs, and full width on the landing, should look smart. No stair rods, just attached to the stair.

Edited by JackReacher on Tuesday 4th April 22:11

[JackReacher]

mart 63 said:

If your handrails are oak, dont use oil as it will split the grain over time. I would use Dulux diamond satin water based clear varnish .
Nice job by the way.

Thanks, the handrail is pine and not oak. I'm going to try a few different types of clear wax/oil/varnish on a sample bit of pine to see what the finish looks like. I understand they can sometimes make a softwood look a bit yellow which I want to avoid.

[williredale]

That looks good!

[buzzer]

I find that Scotchbrite is great for sanding/keying this sort of job... better than sand paper as it can be wrapped around the spindles and twisted to get an all around good key, and importantly into the joins, crevices.

Use two squares together and it does the job great!

[timbobalob]

Looks superb - good job well done.

Really like the wall colour too, especially against the white and light wood. What colour/brand is it?

[JackReacher]

buzzer said:

I find that Scotchbrite is great for sanding/keying this sort of job... better than sand paper as it can be wrapped around the spindles and twisted to get an all around good key, and importantly into the joins, crevices.

Use two squares together and it does the job great!

Thanks, bit late now but I did use wire wool in places like that, as sandpaper just wasn't effective!

timbobalob said:

Looks superb - good job well done.

Really like the wall colour too, especially against the white and light wood. What colour/brand is it?

It's Dulux Polished Pebble in Trade Diamond Matt. I made the mistake of purchasing a load of Dulux Endurance in the same colour a few months back, but when I finally got round to the walls I realised the Endurance was rubbish to apply and get a good finish! Took it all back to B&Q for a full refund to their credit as Endurance has now been replaced by something else, and went off to local paint centre to get it mixed up in Diamond Matt, much much better quality!