Can you stain and varnish over oil paint?

[nitin0424]

 

Dear community member,

I have a staircase which is right now painted with oil based paint (not sure of number of layers). Can I paint it with stain and varnish? I want to change the colour of the piller to a darker shade.

[Jason]

Hi @nitin0424,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. We're pleased to have you join us. 

Can you please confirm what kind of look you are after? Are you wanting to return the railing to it's original timber? Or are you just wanting to paint over in a different colour?

If it's the latter, you can simply paint over the existing paint as long as it is in good condition - that is, it is not peeling off. Most people would just give a light sand to ensure the paint adheres well and use an oil-based paint again. 

Jason

[nitin0424]

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the response, I am after the attached look. I can paint it however thinking of using stain and varnish. 

Regards,

Nitin Gupta

 

[Jason]

Hi again @nitin0424,

To use a stain you would need to sand to remove all traces of paint, which would be a difficult task given the shape of the railing.  

Let me tag our resident Bunnings D.I.Y. expert @EricL to get his thoughts when he is back on the site.

Jason

[EricL]

Hello @nitin0424

If you are after the look of the second picture, the paint must be sanded off in order for you to stain and varnish the wood. Unfortunately, the stain will not penetrate a painted surface. It will stain the surface of the painted wood, but it will not reflect or show its timber grain. I suggest investing in an electric sander, this should reduce the amount of time you'll be spending sanding the post and rail of the stairs.

Another option is to use a ScotchBrite Paint & Rust Stripper Disc 101mm. If used correctly you'll be able to strip the paint in a short amount of time. One other method is to use paint strippers, which produce a lot of mess and does not totally eliminate sanding. Between the three options, I mentioned paint stripper is the fastest way to remove the paint.

Here is a handy step-by-step guide: How to restore wooden furniture ( the steps mentioned are applicable to your staircase project. )

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[nitin0424]

Hi Eric,

Thanks for your response, I am after the colour combination in first picture where we have a combination of dark shade and white. Can we just do light sanding and use a stain on it?

Regards,

Nitin Gupta 

[EricL]

Hello @nitin0424

If you look closely at the first picture you'll see that although it is painted you can still see the timber grain. This means that it was sanded back to wood and then painted over. In theory, you can paint the handrail and the bottom mounting rail but you can't stain them. You can re-paint it to a darker colour, but if you are after a dark stain and wish to see the grain through the paint it must be sanded down so that the wood can absorb the stain.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[nitin0424]

Hi Eric,

Thank you for the information, It is really helpful.

Regards

Nitin Gupta