How Do I Paint Skirting and Bannisters?
One of the best ways to finish off your room is by painting the skirting, bannisters and any other wood panelling which you have in your spaces.
Without painting these crucial components, your room can look half- complete and even make the entire space look mismatched and unbalanced.
However, painting skirting, bannisters and wood panelling is quite an easy task to complete by simply following the step-by-step guides below!
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How do I paint a skirting board?
Skirting boards are designed to frame your room, it gives a perfect square lining to showcase your room’s accessories, as well as your paint and any furniture you have too.
Do I need to do any preparation before painting my skirting boards?
Depending on the individual states of your skirting boards, various levels of preparation may be needed for your skirting boards.
If you have bare wood skirting boards:
For these bare skirting boards, it is absolutely essential that you treat your wood with a knotting solution and a wood primer beforehand.
This is to ensure that your wood panelling is as durable and strong as it possibly can be before you start painting it.
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If this step is not completed, it can impact the durability of your wood panelling, which is the last thing you want to do when you have just spent quite a significant amount of time painting them and making them look lovely.
If you have previously painted or varnished wood panelling:
You must make sure that the previously painted and/or varnished wood panelling is thoroughly clean beforehand.
This is so that you can lightly sand down the surface previous to painting using wet and dry paper with a mild detergent of your choosing.
For both of these above:
For both of these wooden skirting boards, it is best if you lightly sand both down. Although, the previously painted/varnished skirting should be sanded down a little bit more thoroughly than the other one.
It is also essential that you use a decorator’s masking tape (the thickness depends on how much splashback you might have from painting the skirting boards) in order for you to achieve the perfect line on your skirting boards.
This masking tape should be applied both on top of the skirting board (on the wall above) as well as on the floor (preferably sticking down any dust sheets which you may have taped to the floor to avoid spillages).
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How do I paint my skirting boards?
To paint your skirting boards, it is best to use a paint which is specifically designed for woodwork, such as our Colour Match paint for Woodwork and trim in order to achieve the most durable and best finish for your skirting boards.
However, if you are wanting a self-priming paint, you can also use our Zinsser Colour Match AllCoat paint, which means that you will be able to skip the priming step in painting your skirting (although it wouldn’t harm your skirting boards to have an additional layer of primer beforehand).
Is there a particular way which I should paint my skirting boards?
Although it may seem like painting skirting boards will be an easy task which you can just quickly slap on paint onto and leave it to dry, if you are wanting the perfect finish for your skirting boards, it would be best to follow the simple and every effective step-by-step guide below:
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Step 1: Cut in with your brush
One of the best ways to achieve the perfect finish on your skirting boards (without ruining your walls at the same time) is to cut into the skirting with a specifically designed angled cutting in brush. This type of paint brush allows you to have the precision and detail which you will need to achieve the straight edges on your skirting boards although it really does help to use decorator’s tape if you are unsure on this step).
Step 2: Use long swipes with a flat brush
If you are after a smooth and flat finish to your paintwork (with little to no paint streaks and paint drips too), one of the best ways to achieve this is to use long, sweeping movements to paint you skirting boards and then blend the edges in.
Concentrating on smaller sections of your skirting boards, move your paint brush lengthways until the streaks are gone and make sure that you leave a wet edge so that you can blend your paintwork in completely all the way up your skirting boards.
In order to avoid any drips and spillages, make sure you do not overload your paint brush by dipping it approximately 1/3 of the way into your chosen woodwork paint. This will stop your paint from overloading the skirting boards and dripping off any edges.
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Step 3: Re-coat your paintwork
It is always advised to use at least two coats of paint on your skirting boards. Although it may not look it at a glance, but one coat does not suffice and will not give a perfectly vibrant and pigmented finish like two coats definitely will.
Make sure that you leave the paint for the appropriate time before re-coating it as if the paint beneath is still slightly tacky, it will lift from your skirting board and you may have to remove the paint and start again.
Step 4: Leave to Dry and then remove the masking tape
Much like the point detailed above, make sure hat both coats of paint are completely dry before removing your masking tape as removing it too early can make the paintwork look sloppily done and can even tear some of the still tacky paint off your skirting boards too.
And you’re done!
How do I paint my Staircase Bannister?
Again, much like the point detailed at the beginning of this article, leaving a banister can sometimes prevent your space from looking complete and can even bring down the overall quality of your decorating too.
However, there are various ways in which your can paint your staircase banister in an easy, effective and even a durable way too!
Just follow the step-by-step guide detailed below for some easy hints and tips!
How do I stop my banister handrail from getting chipped as it gets touched a lot?
As people walk up and down the stairs, banister get touched a lot (well, that’s what they’re there for, aren’t they?) however this can be a major problem when painting it!
The oils in your skin can often damage the handrail as you touch it and, over time, this can lead to the banister paint returning to its original chipped, damaged and broken state.
However, with the correct paint and the correct preparation methods used, your banister can remain as clean, bright and shiny as the day you painted it!
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How do I prepare my banister for painting?
Depending on the previous state of your banister, you may have to prepare your banister in different ways!
If you have bare wood banister:
Much like the skirting boards as detailed above, if you have bare wood banister, you will have to make sure that you use a knotting solution and a wood primer beforehand in order to prevent your wooden banister from splitting (especially because it is such a high traffic piece of equipment in your home).
This is to ensure that your wood panelling is as durable and strong as it possibly can be before you start painting it.
If this step is not completed, it can impact the durability of your wood banister, which is the last thing you want to do when you have just spent quite a significant amount of time painting them and making them look lovely.
If you have previously painted/varnished wood banister:
Again, much like the point above about painting previously painted/varnished wooden skirting boards, you must make sure that the previously painted and/or varnished wood banister is thoroughly clean beforehand.
This is so that you can lightly sand down the surface previous to painting using wet and dry paper with a mild detergent of your choosing.
For both of these above:
For both of these wooden banister, it is best if you lightly sand both down. Although, the previously painted/varnished skirting should be sanded down a little bit more thoroughly than the other one.
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How do I prepare an area for painting?
In order to avoid any accidental splashes or spillages, you must make sure that you have fully prepared your area for painting.
Using dust sheets and decorator’s masking tape is one of the best ways to do this as painting bannisters can be a messy process!
Check out our blog post ‘how to Paint walls’ for some more handy tips and tricks on how to prepare an area for painting!
It is also essential that you use a decorator’s masking tape (the thickness depends on how much splash back you might have from painting the skirting boards) in order for you to achieve the perfect line on your banisters.
Ensure that you tape your banister where the bottom meets the wall in order to ensure that your paint for your banister does not spill or splash back onto your walls. This masking tape should be applied both on top of the banister (on the wall above) as well as on the floor (preferably sticking down any dust sheets which you may have taped to the floor to avoid spillages).
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How do I paint my Banister?
These steps should be completed exactly the same way as detailed above in the step-by-step guide on how to paint skirting boards for the best results!
A quick recap is below:
Step 1: Cut in with your brush
Step 2: Use long swipes with a flat brush
Step 3: Re-coat your paintwork
Step 4: Leave to Dry and then remove the masking tape
And you’re done!
For more Tips & Tricks, or even just decorating ideas, please check out our other BLOG POSTS!
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