Railing Refinishing & Cost to Paint Handrails and Spindles
Is your railing looking… brown?!? Maybe it looks like a bad spray tan. Don’t worry, we can help! Golden oak and all wood railings are dated but luckily our team specializes in giving railings just like yours a fresh, modern new look!
Are you wondering about the cost to paint a stairway? Painting a stairway can breathe new life into a room, offering a fresh and transformative appearance. While stairways might appear straightforward on the surface, their complexity is revealed when you consider the numerous risers and treads, each with its own unique angles. To achieve an impeccable finish, it’s best to enlist the expertise of a professional painter for this intricate task. The cost to paint most stairway railings are $2,000 to $2,500 to paint if they are all brown wood and if you just need a new color on the handrail and newel posts, it is usually only around $1,000. Not bad considering the wow factor that a new railing will bring to your house!
Your railing is a focal point in your home that can either make or break your design style. Take a look at some of the before and after photos here and let us know if you’d like a free quote. We look forward to an opportunity to earn your trust.
At Textbook Painting, we also offer services in cabinet painting, exterior painting, interior painting, and wallpaper installation.
Professional Railing Refinishing Process
We always aim to do things the “textbook” way. (Hence our name!) Anytime you are painting over previously stained wood, you have to follow a very intentional process to ensure proper adhesion as well as a uniform color.
Railing Prep Work
The first step is to protect the stairway and and surrounding areas from paint, primer and dust. Then we clean the spindles, handrail, etc as needed. Finally, before we can start to prime, we need to remove the polyurethane using sanders and liquid de-glosser.
Priming the Railing
Anytime you are painting over woodwork, using the proper primer is paramount. We use a primer designed to promote adhesion and seal out the old wood to provide a proper color. This ensures none of the brown wood bleeds back through, especially on the spindles.
Painting the Spindles and Railing
Finally, we apply two coats of a top-quality paint. On the areas that are not commonly touched, like the spindles and stringers, we use an enamel trim paint. On the handrail and newel posts we use a special wood-refinishing product called a 2k Polyurethane. We purchase this product, which is imported from Italy, because it is the gold standard for fine wood and cabinet finishing. It is the standard in Europe where environmental standards are more stringent than in the USA and we want to use the best product in your home that we can.
Railing Refinishing & Painting Costs
Wondering cost to paint stairway handrails and spindles?
The big factor in determining the price is whether the spindles are currently white or currently stained. If your spindles are currently white, then we probably just need to change the handrail and newel posts to a darker brown color to give you the modern look you want. This typically costs around $800 – $1,500.
For railings that are currently all wood currently, there is obviously a lot more work to do. The best way to do this type of work is to paint the baseplate (at the bottom of the spindles) white. With this look, the typical price is around $2,000 – $3,000.
Of course, the amount of railing you have is a key factor and there are certainly some homes where it costs more than these ranges. It is also possible to stain the handrail and newel posts but that will usually triple the cost because of the amount of additional work involved.
We hare happy to provide a quote and can do so without even needing to come to your home. Let us know when you are ready.
