All of this week we are sharing our staircase restoration project with you. On Monday we told you about stripping and sanding everything (read about it here) and yesterday we shared our painting and staining progress with you (read about it here). As part of the staircase restoration, we have also stripped and sanded the panelling along the side of the staircase. This is what it looked like before stripping.
The top half was painted in the same brown colour as the walls and the bottom was a whitish colour.
Most importantly, you can see that there are so many layers of paint, that lots of the detailing in the wood is lost.
So, yet again after countless hours of stripping with the heat gun and even more hours of sanding this is the result.
Although it’s come up really even and smooth after sanding, it’s quite dark and, as we are painting most of the woodwork in the house, we’ve decided to paint this white, too. We think it should really brighten up the hallway. At the moment we are planning to painting the hallway white, but depending on our mood, we might change our minds… once or twice…
So, after stripping and sanding the next step as always when painting woodwork is to treat any knots with knotting solution. It’s really important not to skip this step, as the knot will eventually bleed through the new paint and leave a yellowish ring. We must have missed one knot when painting our bathroom door and this is what it looks like now.
Not great is it?
Then you can start the painting.
These are our top 5 tips for painting woodwork:
- Make sure you have a smooth and clean surface to start with! Even the best paint job in the world isn’t going to look good on a bad surface.
- Treat all knots with knotting solution.
- Lots of thin coats of paint are better than thick ones. This will also help avoid runs in the paint.
- Sand between coats. This removes the air bubbles in the paint that always occur when painting wood and will help you achieve a smooth finish.
- When painting always finish on an upwards stroke. This will ensure that you won’t be able to see any brush strokes.
After treating the knots it was time for some more painting. The first coat of paint really didn’t cover the woodwork very well.
But after applying a further two coats of paint the paneling is now completely white.
You can see that there are still areas that need touching up. There are also gaps between the panels that need filling. We’re almost there though! Come back tomorrow for The Big Staircase Reveal!
Hello! I’m about to do my staircase and panelling and hope for them to look like yours by the end. Do you remember what white paint you used for the panelling and steps? I was thinking floor paint for the steps and eggshell for the panelling (same as what I’ve used for skirting and door frames etc?)
Thanks so much!
We used Dulux Pure Brilliant White in eggshell for the stairs. We wouldn’t necessarily recommend it though as it’s turned a bit yellow over time. Having said that, they’re always improving paints, so it may not be a problem anymore.
The wall and panelling are painted in emulsion. It’s probably not the most hard-wearing finish, but we’ve not had problems so far. The colour is Strong White by Farrow and Ball.
Good luck worth your staircase Claudia.
Cx
It is looking amazing! I am looking forward to see the final reveal!
Thanks Sandra! I can’t wait either! Not sure how much more sanding and painting I can take! I’m sure it’ll be worth in the end.
Cx
I too am a visitor from DIYDiva and Ugly Duckling House, and I like Tip #5 about ending with an upward stroke instead of downward. I don’t usually bother with that because 1) I don’t usually do wood spindles and 2) I usually like to roll after for the “smooth” finish. Thanks for this important tip!
Glad I could help! Not sure why finishing on an upward stroke helps, but it does – and the best thing about this tip is that there’s no extra work involved!
Cx
I’m a visitor over from DIYDiva and The Ugly Duckling House. The staircase is looking great! Thanks for the tip about the knotting solution – I had no idea!
So glad you found your way over here! I’d better get a move on with the staircase, I have some major competition now!
Cx
Hi there – LOVING this site! We’re just about to purchase an Edwardian Terrace (our first home) with a massive renovation list – we literally need to gut the house throughout and start again for most things – doors/windows/boiler/electrics/plastering/soffits/facias….the list goes on – so this site has been amazing for finding out how to do things!
I’ve been reading around knots and painting…would you recommend that a knotting solution is better than something like Ronseal Knot Block 2-in-1 knotting solution/primer?
Thanks
Thank you so much for the compliments, Sophie! Congratulations on your new home!! It’s definitely the start of an amazing adventure! In regards to knotting solutions – it’s up to you really. We always found using specific knotting solution best. It only costs a few pounds and a little can lasts for a long, long time. It also only takes seconds to apply, so it’s really not much of a waste of time or money either way.
The choice is yours though! In home improvement terms there are always countless options to choose from!
Let us know if there’s anything else we can help with.
Cx