How can I properly repaint a staircase railing knob?

Louise
by Louise

Maybe 2 or 3 yrs ago I had this inside banister painted. Within two months, the handrail was peeling so I sanded it down, put new primer on it and also sanded and re-primed this knob at the top. Primer was Zinsser BIN Ultimate Stain Blocker. It's gray, as you see here. The banister is still fine except for a few places where one of my cats put his claws on it, but they're very minor and easy to fix. But over time, the knob started losing its shine on top and felt a bit rough. So, knowing I was going to sand it down again and prime and paint it again, and being a person who LOVES to pick at and peel things, this is the result. The primer seems to be in good shape. Question is after I sand the red, I'm sure some of the primer will get sanded so I think I need to apply more primer. I think I put two coats on before, but is that necessary? When I painted it before, I applied 3 coats of red. It's high gloss Sherwin-Williams. I let each coat dry completely and very lightly sanded before applying the following coat. I knew it would be touched more than anything else, so worked carefully (I thought) to make sure it would look nice. It looked great until a few months ago when it started to show some wear. The primer didn't show but the top was rough. Is there something I should do differently? If not, will I have to continue to re-do the knob paint from time to time?

  6 answers
  • Laura Cooper Laura Cooper on Oct 27, 2019
    Louise, that's kind of fascinating. So what you did with primer looks good. It's obviously holding up fine, so I don't see why you would need to prime again. The only thing I can think of is that this paint is reacting negatively to body oils. That's really odd, because a good quality latex usually doesn't do this. I would try repainting, then protect the paint in the high wear areas either with several coats of carnauba wax or a clear coat.
    • See 1 previous
    • Laura Cooper Laura Cooper on Oct 27, 2019

      Carnauba is good quality car wax and it should not alter the color. I would test an inconspicuous spot or create a test board to make sure. Clear coat is often sold with aerosol spray paints in the spray paint department. Clearcoat CAN alter the color. It usually is slightly yellow, but there is another clear coat that is purple and it shouldn't alter the color. (i know that sounds backwards). The concern I would have with any clear coat is to make sure it is compatible with your paint underneath. Personally, I would use the wax.

  • Dee Dee on Oct 27, 2019

    Paint takes up to 2 weeks to harden and cure. If you could manage not to touch the knob for a full 2 weeks after painting it might last longer.

  • Jeanette Jeanette on Oct 27, 2019

    I would look for a metal "cap", such as black, nickel, brass, etc, and forget it.

    • See 1 previous
    • Jeanette Jeanette on Oct 28, 2019

      I really don't know where to find them. I would not saw anything off. Just find something metal that would cover the problem area, sort of like a giant thumb tack.

  • William William on Oct 28, 2019

    Three coats of paint may have been too much. One coat should be enough, two if needed for full coverage. Too thick and it will peel from use. After paint has dried seal with three coats of a water base polyurethane to protect the paint.

    • Louise Louise on Oct 29, 2019

      How long should I wait before I know the paint is really dry so I can apply the poly?

  • William William on Oct 29, 2019

    Wait overnight before applying the poly. Use a quick dry poly. About an hour between coats.