Want to paint my railing balusters. They are stained oak coated with what
seems to be varnish or urethane. Can these be painted? Do they need to be
primed? Which primer is best?

Thanks

--
Edee Em
I know the truth is out there, but I like to stay in....

I'd use 150-220 sandpaper to cut the gloss -- sand with the grain. And
use an oil-based primer. You can use either oil or latex finish coat
over the oil primer.

If you don't do some serious sanding then expect the paint to peel.

wrote in message
oups.com...
If you don't do some serious sanding then expect the
paint to peel.


Well, maybe:

If the surfaces are dirty or covered with tree sap,
bird droppings, hand oils, etc., it's often better to
first wash them with a good product such as TSP, etc..
That stuff HAS to come off and sanding's the hardest
way to do it.
Can't find it now, but I have a can of stuff out in
the garage that'll cut just about anything off the
surface, plus claims to remove the need for sanding on
varnish & urethanes. I've used it with great success
so far (about 3 years). It removes the gloss in a
hurry, plus gets down into the little cracks and splits
that are impossible to "sand" into. Then you rinse it
with a hose, give it a day, and paint away.
Any bare spots of course need to be reprimed but
well-adhered paint should be OK to paint over. I often
prime even the well adhered paint so things like
happened on my back porch floor don't happen: Top
layer of paint coming off, exposing a slightly
different shade underneath it. I shoulda
cleaned/primed it better near the doorway where it's
happening.
Check around your local shops; it's nothing very
special.

Pop

plus claims to remove the need for sanding on varnish & urethanes.

yeah, That slipped my mind. I haven't had the need for it, but there is
a deglosser on the market.

I was at the home depot and noticed a primer, Zinn(?) 1-2-3 that claimed
they are for "painted or varnished" surfaces. Any luck with them? I see
the benefit of the deglosser but that adds a step not needed if the primer
works.


"edee em" wrote in message
...
Want to paint my railing balusters. They are stained oak coated with what
seems to be varnish or urethane. Can these be painted? Do they need to
be primed? Which primer is best?

Thanks

--
Edee Em
I know the truth is out there, but I like to stay in....

I haven't tried ZIN for this purpose. And without knowing for sure it
worked, I wouldn't skip the sanding/deglossing step. Many products make
many claims that don't really work out.