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What I did
So, after a number of years considering this, I finally got around to updating our staircase. It was dark wood, metal spindles and rattled every time I went down it. My wonderful carpenter changed the banister, spindles and newel posts while we were on holiday, but it was down to me to decorate.
Why I did it
I wanted to decorate this myself as I had in mind what look I wanted, but it evolved as I did each section. I also knew it would need a few coats.
What didn’t go to plan
Initially I sanded down the stained wood, hoping to be able to reveal lovely light wood. Well, I sanded it down, but there was no beautiful light wood underneath! It was covered in dents and divets, nail holes, screw holes, and was only pine rather than oak as I’d hoped. So, plan b was to paint it.
I then, bit by bit in the evenings, sanded, primed, masked and painted. Then… oh no… within 2 weeks I saw some paint had come off!
This meant that I didn’t prepare this well enough. So, note, always prepare well – if you’re not sure you’ve done enough, do some more. This is fixable, but it was also avoidable!
STEP BY STEP TO FIX
Step 1: Cover the carpet with a plastic bag and tape down so that you don’t damage the carpet!
Step 2: Sand down the area. First use about 80 grit sandpaper and go around the edge far enough to know that the paint has adhered well in the surrounding area. As this was a bit awkward I used a ruler with sandpaper wrapped around the edge! I could then get under the carpet a little way and not damage the new spindles or carpet. Then go up to 120 or 180 grit and sand again. Wipe down to get rid of all the dust you’ve created.
Step 3: Check your paint instructions for what you use for a primer. Apply this and let dry. Once dry, sand down lightly again.
Step 4: After cleaning any dust away, let dry and put the top coat on.
Step 5: Repeat step 4!
Step 6: Once dry, remove the plastic bag and masking tape carefully. And ta da!!
