How to Paint Handrails

Painted handrails can accent a well-designed space.

Handrails don't have to be just a safety feature in your home. If you apply to them a captivating paint color, you can turn the functional handrail into a stylish part of your home's design scheme. The actual painting process is relatively straightforward, but the right approach ensures longer-lasting paint coverage and a safer handrail for you and your family.

Things You'll Need

• Screwdriver
• 2 sawhorses
• Painter's tape
• Stain-blocking primer
• 2-inch paintbrush
• Oil-base interior paint

Instructions

1. Remove the handrail if it is easily detachable. A handrail attached directly to an adjacent wall is often held in place by unscrewable metal brackets. If your handrail rests on posts, disassembly is likely too complicated to be worth your while.

2. Set up two evenly spaced sawhorses over a protective plastic sheet.

3. Lay a detached handrail over the two sawhorses for easier painting.

4. Protect nearby items with painter's tape if the handrail is not detachable. Painter's tape shields wall surfaces and railing posts from accidental brush strokes. Place the protective plastic sheet on the area beneath the handrail, and secure it to the wall with painter's tape.

5. Prime the top railing surface with a general-purpose primer and a 2-inch paintbrush. For a previously stained or naturally dark wooden railing, make sure the primer is labeled "stain blocking." On darkly tinted wood surfaces, stain-blocking general-purpose primer provides the longest-lasting results.

6. Paint the top portion of the railing using an oil-base interior paint and a 2-inch paintbrush. You can theoretically use any sheen of paint, but semigloss works best for most handrails. Semigloss paint is slick and doesn't feel abrasive to the touch, but it isn't overly smooth to the point where it's too slippery for a good, safe grip.

7. Apply a second coat of paint after the first coat dries. Handrails are repeatedly gripped and scuffed as people walk up and down staircases. Even if the first coat provided enough coverage, a second coat is a good idea for a thicker, durable seal.

8. Repeat Steps 5 through 7 for the underside of the railing. For a detached railing, you'll need to flip the railing over to reach the underside after the top portion dries. This extra drying time may seem like wasted effort, but if you hadn't detached the railing you'd find it's hard to paint the interior edge of any railing attached directly to the wall.

9. Remove the painter's tape and plastic sheet, or reattach the railing, after the final coat has dried for 24 hours.

References

• "Stanley Complete: Complete Painting"; Larry Johnston; 2007