Can i paint over varnish and with what paint?

i am painting spindles on a staircaseCan i paint over varnish and with what paint?
Yes you can. You can either sand them all back down to the wood (a long and labourious job) or buy some primer from a DIY store. This will enable you to paint over it with gloss or satin. You might lose some of the detail in the turned wood but it's a quicker and easier solution than the sanding option.Can i paint over varnish and with what paint?
No. You should first remove the varnish, but it's not easy to do that without destroying your frame.
The key to this kind of thing is trial and error.





There is a company called Killz that makes primers that will cover just about anything. Get some and try it on part of a spindle.
Um - you can but best to strip the varnish - at the very least sand it to allow the undercoat somethingto grip. Otherwise it will chip and flake at the slightest nock.





As it's stair spindles you'll find a heat gun difficult - best you a solvent.





You should undercoat with something like dulux white spirit based - you only put primer on bare wood not over varnish.
1. this is not an Art question it is more about decoration





2. it will look terrible if you decorate without preparing the surface first





3. it would look better if you were to cover the spindles up with sheets of mdf, than to bodge up the result. I personally would chemically strip, then sand the spindles back to the wood, see if I like the finish of the timber, and wax finish the wood, perhaps with a stain, to show off the grain of the wood.





4. depends on the interior you want to re-create. If it is an old georgian property, then the wooden stair was the focus of the building, and unless it is a rural effort, made of half decent timber, so stain and wax. rural efforts look great painted in off white, or black (with yellow walls)...





if is victorian, than paint sometimes is best, try to use off white or cream colours, and warm walls.





If its edwardian, then dark stain with light walls, golds and brown pallet.





if its modern, then anything goes. I have just done a pine stair in pale blue white stain, with a wax finish - very scandinavian looking.
any gloss, eggshell, or satin paint will go over varnish but a least a light sanding and undercoat will help the paint adhere and help stop chipping. When painting take care not to over load the paint brush this will help to stop the paint from running especially arond any detailted bits .
yes