We're coming along, but had I had a real feel for how much work this was going to be, I might have reconsidered.
We used a total of 3 tubes of woodfill to fill those holes, then it was sanding time. I used a detail sander with 120 grit paper for the flat surfaces, what a great time saver. I did a very light sanding on the spindles and railing using 120 as well. Once that was done, I ran my hand over every surface and used a piece of 220 grit to fine detail each step.
When we finished sanding, everything was shop vac'ed, then a damp cloth was taken over every inch of the surface to remove dust. I followed this up with a dry cloth to ensure there was no chalky feeling.
We chose to prime with Zinsser B-I-N. This allows really good coverage and hides knots, previous railing stain on the stairs and various other dark areas. Warning, this stuff is not bad smelling at all but has a strong fume, so I would use a fan or something to move some air around. I found myself lightheaded and not feeling so great a couple of times. Great thing about this primer is that it is dry to touch in 15 minutes and completely dry in 45 mins.
Since this primer dries pretty quick, you want to move fast. We found the best was to paint spindles was to have one person on each side to catch each others drips on the curves. Soon we had a great system and after a handfuls of "you're not painting right" and some growls, I made a pact to bite my tongue and let John give the staircase his own personal touch.
I can tell you, I never realized we had so many hard to reach areas and crevices. If I never paint another spindle I'll be just fine. However with 2 coats of paint to follow, I know that is not realistic.
The funny thing is, once you pullup that carpet, it is the point of no return. I have no choice, I have to finish what I started. I should mention that in starting this, John decided to help and it soon became a "project" that would be a great bonding experience. John has since joked that this is a test to see if our marriage will survive lol.
Added to our time so far.
1 more hour of wood filling
4 hours of sanding
7 hours of priming
I think we have about 22 man hours invested in this staircase so far. The priming is not quite finished. I worked on it for an hour again this morning, and have some harder areas I need john to reach on a ladder. We also have a railing overlooking our living room with the cathedral ceiling. We have decided to do this once the rest is complete.
So, we are off to the lake for a few more days. When we return, we'll complete the rest of the priming and start on paint.
We are still undecided whether to go with oil or latex. The primer we chose is great for either. The woman at Benjamin Moore said neither was good and we had to use floor paint. We can not get the floor paint dark enough for the stairs though, so this option won't work. I am leaning towards latex. We are going to have a runner on the steps too, so I think we'll be ok.
We used a total of 3 tubes of woodfill to fill those holes, then it was sanding time. I used a detail sander with 120 grit paper for the flat surfaces, what a great time saver. I did a very light sanding on the spindles and railing using 120 as well. Once that was done, I ran my hand over every surface and used a piece of 220 grit to fine detail each step.
When we finished sanding, everything was shop vac'ed, then a damp cloth was taken over every inch of the surface to remove dust. I followed this up with a dry cloth to ensure there was no chalky feeling.
We chose to prime with Zinsser B-I-N. This allows really good coverage and hides knots, previous railing stain on the stairs and various other dark areas. Warning, this stuff is not bad smelling at all but has a strong fume, so I would use a fan or something to move some air around. I found myself lightheaded and not feeling so great a couple of times. Great thing about this primer is that it is dry to touch in 15 minutes and completely dry in 45 mins.
Since this primer dries pretty quick, you want to move fast. We found the best was to paint spindles was to have one person on each side to catch each others drips on the curves. Soon we had a great system and after a handfuls of "you're not painting right" and some growls, I made a pact to bite my tongue and let John give the staircase his own personal touch.
I can tell you, I never realized we had so many hard to reach areas and crevices. If I never paint another spindle I'll be just fine. However with 2 coats of paint to follow, I know that is not realistic.
The funny thing is, once you pullup that carpet, it is the point of no return. I have no choice, I have to finish what I started. I should mention that in starting this, John decided to help and it soon became a "project" that would be a great bonding experience. John has since joked that this is a test to see if our marriage will survive lol.
Added to our time so far.
1 more hour of wood filling
4 hours of sanding
7 hours of priming
I think we have about 22 man hours invested in this staircase so far. The priming is not quite finished. I worked on it for an hour again this morning, and have some harder areas I need john to reach on a ladder. We also have a railing overlooking our living room with the cathedral ceiling. We have decided to do this once the rest is complete.
So, we are off to the lake for a few more days. When we return, we'll complete the rest of the priming and start on paint.
We are still undecided whether to go with oil or latex. The primer we chose is great for either. The woman at Benjamin Moore said neither was good and we had to use floor paint. We can not get the floor paint dark enough for the stairs though, so this option won't work. I am leaning towards latex. We are going to have a runner on the steps too, so I think we'll be ok.
1 comment:
I also found the fumes from that primer to be overwhelming but it did a great job of covering up some graffiti someone did in their bedroom! Your project looks great...can't wait for more! lol
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