When I moved into my home one of the first things I wanted to do was to modernize the outdated flooring. I hired a professional to refinish my orange oak floors to a nice dark brown. When that was done my railings and banisters didn’t match. I didn’t want to spend the money to pay a professional to paint them, so I did it myself and they turned out beautifully! It is tedious work but with a little patience they will look like a professional painted them. I wanted the spindles to stand out so I painted them white. I painted the railings a dark java brown. The wonderful thing about this project is that I did not have to do any sanding! Crazy I know. It’s all about the products that you use. I used a gel stain to do everything but the spindles. I used white chalk paint on the spindles and finished it with a coat of polyurethane to protect it. There are links to the products on Amazon at the end of the post if you need them.
Before you can see the original oak finish. You can see the products that I used in the picture on the right. No need to sand anything!
I ordered the jel stain, chalk paint and polyuethane on Amazon. I used normal painters tape to tape any areas where you want clean lines. Use tape at the base of the spindles not at the top. I used a very small brush for the top of the spindles. You will need to use a foam brush to apply the stain. Apply 1 coat evenly. Don’t wipe the stain off. Leave it to dry for several hours. Then put a second coat on. Let that dry for 2-3 days before painting the spindles. You will want to make sure that is completely dry before taping over it at the base. Use a normal bristle brush for the spindles. I used 2 different sizes as seen in the picture. You can put the coat of polyurethane on with a bristle brush as soon as the chalk paint is dry (a few hours to a day later).
I absolutely LOVE how they turned out! The total cost came to around $75.00 which is the best part. My painter wanted $1,000 to do it for me. I hope that you find some inspiration in this. All the best!
