Your home’s exterior décor can be a huge determinant of its overall value. Depending on how it’s done, it can either hurt or improve your home’s aesthetic appeal. Being the very first features your guests/buyers come across when getting into your home, you can’t afford to mess things up. You want to create the very best welcoming picture with your outdoor structures and features. Speaking of outdoor structures, sometimes you just need to give your stair railing an aesthetic lift or upgrade.
Outdoor stair handrails play a huge role in determining the ultimate aesthetics value of your home. Time has a way of wearing things down. The fact that the outdoor railings are exposed to the extreme elements makes them even more vulnerable to fading. However, it’s easy to make them look good and attractive again. With the right information, you can easily restore your home’s exterior beauty and elegance. Why not repaint those faded or discolored outdoor stair rails and see what happens? Why not give it an aesthetic lift? When it’s time to giving your railing an aesthetic lift, painting can be an awesome way to go about it. Well, here are 5 outdoor stair railing painting tips you want to know.
1. Get the Supplies
Be it professional or DIY, each and every handy project requires the proper materials, tools, and equipment. In this case, you won’t be able to accomplish the task without the necessary paints, brushes, and other requirements. This determines the overall quality of the paint job. Other things that you may need for this project may include sandpapers or sanding equipment, and crack fillers. You may also need thinning agents such as white spirit or standard thinner for your paint.
2. Prepare the Surfaces
You have to make the surface smooth by sanding to prepare it for finishing. The smoother the surface, the easier it becomes to apply paint. The finish will also come out great and smooth, perhaps shiny depending on the number of paint coats you apply. Using your bare hands for sanding can be a tiring and time-consuming affair. An electric sander is the best as it smothers up the rough surfaces pretty good. It doesn’t also consumer much time and effort. However, you’ll not be able to reach all the places, especially on the underside when using a sanding machine. You may require a squishy sander to take care of the rounded surfaces and on the spindles.
3. Wipe Dust Off
Once you’re done with sanding, wipe any dust particles from off the railings. This will ensure that they don’t get under the primer or paint. The dust particles can cause the finish work to be grainy instead of a fine and smooth. Afterward, tape or mask the surrounding areas that you don’t intend to paint.
4. Painting
You’ll want to start by applying a primer coat on the prepared rails. Depending on the type of surface you’re painting, use the appropriate primer for the same. Be sure to use the appropriate brush size and wipe off any drips before they dry. Otherwise, allow the primer to dry before applying the second coat. In most cases, the appropriate drying time for paints is manufacturer-recommended.
Once the primer is all dried up, apply the paint of your choice using an angled bristle brush. Allow it 24 hours of drying time if it’s the slow-dry type. If unsatisfied with the finish, lightly touch up the surface with super fine grit sandpaper. At this point, you can sand off the dried drips on the railings and wipe the surfaces using a damp cloth. Once dry, touch up the railings with paint again. Repeating this process ensures a smooth and glossier finish. Give it enough time to dry and you are good to go.
Using the above outdoor stair railing painting tips, you can easily rejuvenate the look of your outdoor staircase. With some more professional painting tips, the task can be a breeze.