Question on prepping/painting my banisters



I painted the white paint over a dark brown banister several years ago. I can't remember what I did to prep it but I'm wondering now if I primed it. Could that be the cause of this "wanna peel off" problem?
I only started sanding in a few places. Some seem to sand down just fine but others do the peeling thing and don't seem to want to sand into a smooth area.
The "knobs" at the bottom and top of the stairs (I don't know what the real name is for these "knobs.") The paint started coming off them rather soon after I originally painted them yrs ago. The one at the top sanded down nicely today. The one at the bottom wants to do the peeling thing and doesn't respond well to sanding. Should I use paint remover on it?
Due to wear and tear of yrs, the white paint is scratched in many places and very little of it feels smooth, so I assume that means I'll have to sand it more? Or what?
I'm going to paint the banister a rich, deep red so want the end result to look nice. For primer, I bought Zinsser B-I-N Shellac Base and had it tinted gray, but they couldn't make it dark gray. I bought a hi-gloss latex for the red.
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Claire M on Jan 04, 2015
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Jessie on Jan 04, 2015
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Lori on Jan 05, 2015
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Marion Nesbitt on Jan 05, 2015
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Stacy | BlakeHillHouse on Jan 05, 2015
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Funnygirl on Jan 05, 2015
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Louise on Apr 19, 2015
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Mdbaron on May 10, 2015
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Louise on May 10, 2015
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