# Staining or painting wood?



## HomeRepairMike (Apr 25, 2011)

What is involved with making the front door and the light colored stair banister look like the dark colored banister? Is this difficult to do?

Thanks!


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## nealtw (May 3, 2011)

I think you have to sand it down to wood and start over.


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## joecaption (May 4, 2011)

It would be far easyer to just change the door to a lighter color.
All that carpet would have to come out and all that wood would have to be sanded down to bare wood so the stain would have a place to soak into.
Even if you painted it all the sealer would have to come off or the paint will not stick.


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## HomeRepairMike (May 6, 2011)

joecaption said:


> It would be far easyer to just change the door to a lighter color.
> All that carpet would have to come out and all that wood would have to be sanded down to bare wood so the stain would have a place to soak into.
> Even if you painted it all the sealer would have to come off or the paint will not stick.




I'm not sure I understand what you mean. When you say it would be easier to change the door to a lighter color. what way would this be done?


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## eCabinetStore (May 9, 2011)

You can go from light to dark. Try a staining coat and another and another until close possible match the clear coat, try first a small out of viw area to test.


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## HomeRepairMike (Jun 14, 2011)

For a beginner like me, how difficult would it be to sand down the door or the banister with the help of someone else and to stain it? Is this a big job?

Thanks.


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## DIYHomeDesign (Jun 14, 2011)

It might not be too difficult if you have the right equipment and time. Just make sure you're wearing a ventilation mask--the dust from varnish can be pretty nasty.


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## HomeRepairMike (Jun 15, 2011)

What is the "right equipment ?" What would I need?

Thanks.


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## janellelk (Jun 20, 2011)

My SO and I did this on a smaller scale and it was a lot of work!  We sanded it down by hand with a fine grain and man, I had no idea how much work and elbow grease it would take.

Luckily, everything went well and we were your DIY amateurs.    We had to put on two stains and another one wouldn't have hurt although I was afraid it was going to turn gummy.

Anyhow, hope this helped a little bit.  I just followed my SOs lead and worked really hard.


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## handybilly (Sep 20, 2011)

Go ahead and sand it down or you'll just be doing it with ANOTHER layer on, good luck


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## markleena (Feb 16, 2012)

I think you should remove the dark paint from the wood surface and then go for light paint or even if you want you can leave it like that because the railings of the staircase are dark coloured.You can go for different companies,google them for your home improvement.


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## drunkenDIY (Feb 17, 2012)

For the stairs, you'll want to rent a floor edger. First, take up the carpet. Then,start with a coarse grit (around 120) until you're through the varnish. Once you get down to the bare wood, use finer grits (up to 220) until the surface is perfectly smooth. For the banister, you'll need to use hand sanding pads. for all of the nooks and crannies. 

When it's bare wood, use a mahogany stain and add additional coats until it's the color you want. Then seal with a floor-grade polyurethane. 

Now for the door, you'll want to use a mixture of a random orbital sander on the flat surfaces (again, can be rented and follow the same course - coarse sand paper to fine) and hand pads for the detailed portions. 

It'll take a while, but it'll be worth it. You can also check out chemical strippers and test them on inconspicuous areas to see if you could use one of those to get off the first layer of varnish. 

Let us know how it goes!


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## Jasone (Apr 11, 2012)

NO idea. Do what you want to do and let us know?


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