How about a little DIY how to this morning?
In older homes stair balisters have probably seen better days. Most have dings or knicks, many have so many coats of paint on them they've got old drips or bad spots painted over making them nearly impossible to fix. Some have been painted so many times some of the original details may be gone.
We ran into this in a recent job and rather than try to strip the old balisters, we instead had them matched. Once the new ones were finished they needed to be painted white and HERE is our DIY of the day!
First, we created a spray booth that anyone could do at home. We screwed eyelets into the ceiling of the garage (the shop) and used wire to hang a long board. On the board we screwed in basic screws about 6 inches apart. Then we put screws in both the top and bottom of the balister and secured wire from the top of the balister to the screw in the board.
On three sides of the set-up we hung large plastic tarps so the sprayed paint wouldn't cover everything... we also covered the floor just to be safe.
We started by using the paint sprayer (not to be confused with spray paint!) to put on a coat of primer. Then when that was dry (make sure to follow the directions on the paint/primer you're using) we sprayed the first coat of paint.
We used screws in the bottom of the balisters so they could be turned as they were sprayed.
The final step is to install them back in the home, caulk and do the final coat of paint.
Of course the set-up takes some time for this but ultimately it will save you time in the end because spraying goes SO much faster than painting each one by hand three times. Makes for thinner, more even coats as well.
Let us know if you have any questions!
Recent Comments