How to Mix Wood & Iron Balusters in a Stair Rail

The addition of wood may breathe new life into your stair rail.

Balusters are the vertical pieces which run from the base of a stairway up to the handrail. Another coat of paint may not solve the problem of visual boredom inherent in old iron balusters. In many cases, removal and replacement of the balusters is not cost-effective. So, a solution lies in wrapping a piece of wood around each baluster. The local hardware store will have an assortment of wood tack strips and wood dowels, which will serve the purpose. The key element in this solution is time, so the project should start well in advance of any deadline.

Things You'll Need

• Wood dowels, 5/16 inch x 36 inches -- quantity equal to the number of iron balusters
• Access to a bathtub
• Large cotton rag
• Worktable
• Paint drop cloth
• Water-based paint
• One-inch chip brush
• Straight pins
• Six yards of lightweight satin cord
• Tiny decorative screw-in finials -- quantity equal to double the number of dowels

Instructions

1. Fill the bathtub with six inches of water. Place all of the dowels into the water so that they become pliable. Prepare the worktable by laying the paint drop cloth across the top. Set the chip brush and the paint onto the worktable within arm's reach. Leave a space vacant for the dowels. Check the dowels after 30 minutes to determine if they have become pliable.

2. Remove the dowels from the water and dry each one separately with the cotton rag. Remove any lint or fibers from the dowels. Place the dowels onto the table in a row. Paint each dowel with light brushstrokes. Avoid saturating the dowel with paint. Allow the paint on each dowel to dry to the touch. Roll each dowel and paint the back side. Permit the paint to dry to the touch on the back side also.

3. Move the worktable to the stairway. Cut the satin cord into 18-inch lengths. Pin one piece to each end of each dowel. Hold the first dowel in place next to the iron baluster, with the center of each aligned. Begin to slowly wrap the dowel around the baluster.

4. Reach for the cord as the end of the dowel is wrapped to the baluster. Ask someone to assist by holding the middle of the dowel in place while the full length of the cord is tightly wrapped around the dowel and the baluster. Hold the cord in place on the top of the dowel and screw the decorative finial into the dowel's end over the cord ends.

5. Begin from the middle and work toward the bottom of the baluster again wrapping the dowel around the baluster. Situate the dowel at the bottom end and again wrap a piece of the cut cord around both the dowel and baluster. Finish the bottom in the same manner as the top. Proceed baluster by baluster with the process.

Tips & Warnings

• This process may also be used with a sanded tack strip or higher-quality wood, which will be pliable when water-soaked.

• The process must be initiated after the paint is dry to the touch but well before the wood has dried again and loses its pliability.