How to paint spindles?

Partly trying to figure out why you want white paint on them. Been making a living in pretty customized woodwork for a lot of years don't understand why anyone wants to cover the beautiful graining patterns God put in that wood with paint. Having said that (IF) I were ever to lose what few marbles I have left and try something like this I would use a brush. A very good brush with a fine tapered tip. Masking tape can be used and I would try that new "frog" tape I think they call it. You can tape a curve with it but I don't know how fine a radius. Biggest problem with tape in such small close quarters is it usually takes several pieces. You need to pull it off while the paint is wet to a avoid a rough line and that is hard to do in close quarters without touching the paint and making touch up issues. Small fine tapered brush. Very careful measured strokes. Best I have to offer.

I bought a "painting mitt" to paint the spindles on my stairs. It worked pretty well, and was much faster than using a brush. I bought mine at Home Depot.

As the first person wrote about the tape, the best way to remove the tape when paint is wet I have found is to use a hair dryer as I'm pulling the tape off. Works well, just take your time when painting spindles.

Hi Marguerite,

The only way I can see is to take your time, sand down each coat and use a good quality sealer, thin the first coat and possibly second and if needed a third coat is much better than a thick coat, watch for runs and if needed sand them out and touch them up.

Good luck but you could get an almost glassy finish if you take it easy.

Andrew

Use 4 pieces of painters tape to tape off a square at the base of the spindle. Then tear off 4 more pieces to fill in the gaps. I'll include a photo of a chair project that I was working on recently. I haven't posted the full project yet, but feel free to stop by my blog for painting tips. Good luck with your project Marguerite! http://theblacksheepshoppe.blogspot.com/