Removing old paint on staircase

[lizziecupcakes]

Hi all, I’ve just pulled back my ugly old carpet from the stairs and as you’ll see, there’s probably three layers of different coloured paints, possibly with lead too, going from white in the middle to a light pink on the edges.

Can anyone recommend what paint remover I can use without damaging the wood? Any tips on how to remove it properly?

I plan to get rid of the paint, then sand, oil, lay a nice runner going down it. I don’t think I’ll paint it.

But, if all the above will be a faff, maybe i’ll just paint over the old paint and lay the runner down, but I’m not sure the paint will look even.

Sorry for the gross photos. I will clean it all before doing any work

Thank you all!

 

[LadyArowana]

Yes it will be a PITA ( as with most tasks for the renovation of old houses ), but they’ll look great afterwards if you invest the time to do it carefully. Sorry no wisdom on actual products, not a job we did.

 

[Zebra]

https://www.stripperspaintremovers.com I would recommend consulting this site. They have all different strippers for all different surfaces, and you can get test pots.

 

[Stevers]

Those look like pitch pine to me - what 'Toby' called an honorary hardwood. I leave that oiled or varnished too even where all the other softwoods in the room have been painted. The elm stairs down to my basement were tackled with a hot air gun with a shield on the end to direct and restrict the heat where required. Bahco style tungsten scrapers work well with the softened paint. I have products like Paint Panther and caustic soda in stock, but a hot air gun remains my go to for almost all paint stripping jobs - less messy too! Masks and careful clean up essential though.

 

[fernicarry]

You might want to have a read of this thread before using a chemical stripper. They can change the appearance of the wood so if you intend staining or varnishing I would avoid.

Thing about stairs is that there are so many corners you need to get right into to remove every last chip of paint. I intended staining mine same as the floor but I found a repair where the newel post had been moved that would not have worked with stain so they are being repainted.

 

[lizziecupcakes]

Thank you everyone, and @fernicarry I will be making notes off that thread - really appreciate the share. I’m a bit anxious about the bleaching experience mentioned on there. I’ve decided to keep a diary of everything we do now so in the future, we can remember if we varnished or something, or not.

I’m looking forward to doing these stairs, but I’ve also realised how steep they are too (high ceilings) and wondering if a carpenter might be able to help us redesign it. I have no idea how much that would cost. My hallway is quite narrow too, but maybe someone with experience will have a solution.

Does anyone know what the tradesperson is called who redesigns and rebuilds staircases (wooden)? Ty

 

[Cubist]

Any decent joiner should be more than capable of the basic design needed. The key issue governing the design is the height of the risers and the depth of the treads. In a straight flight of stairs the riser height is calculated using the height of the first floor above the ground and tread by the length from the edge of the first floor to where the stair must end on the ground. There are some typical/safe measures used for these; treads are usually set at 9 inches and risers at 7 inches - but both of these will ultimately be determined by the height between floors and the room available to accommodate the stairs. I've attached a calculator that may better explain.

Stair Calculator

This stair calculator computes stair parameters such as rise, total run, angle, and stringer length based on the height, run, tread, and headroom requirements.

www.calculator.net

 

[lizziecupcakes]

Thanks @Cubist !! I’ll check this out

 

[Gothichome]

I used a heat gun and scrapers. Then sand several times, each a finer paper. It took me the better part of a winter season to strip and stain nineteen steps and related skirting boards. Patients and perseverance is the key.

 

[Jonty1234]

We have recently begun this very same thing ourselves.

I had some screwfix paint stripper in the cupboard so gave that a try and it does take the paint off. Admittedly it will need a few coats to get it off properly but generally found it works if you use a paint scraper on it once left to sit for about an hour.

It's the type of job you can do bit by so no urgency from our side to get it all done in one day etc. In that case perhaps a heat gun is more effective but I can't comment there.

I read quite a bit beforehand about the dangers of sanding lead paint (we bought a test kit on ebay and it suggested lead content) as it can cause the particles to spread more. Chemical removers allegedly reduce this, hence going with that approach. Of course, a good face mask is still advisable and good ventilation etc. Can't comment on any stains or damage to stripped boards yet though but the bits we have stripped seem fine.