How to Remove Dated Spirals From a Railing

The DIY Playbook
by The DIY Playbook
3 Materials
$30
2 Hours
Medium
I grew up in a house with spirals on the front porch handrails. And quite frankly, that’s not too surprising because there are spirals on about 99.9% of the homes in most Chicagoland neighborhoods, including ours. Apparently those spiral details were quite the trend 50+ years ago!

[For the full step-by-step tutorial, read this blog post.]

However, these spirals were dating our house and I wanted to remove them to make our outdoor railing look more modern and contemporary. With a little hard work, and a few supplies, I removed them on a budget! This project is extremely inexpensive and almost immediately brings the railing out of the 1950’s and into the 21st century.
Here's our outdoor hand railing before I got my hands on it.
First, you want to grind away the spirals. The side grinder is just like it sounds, a handheld power tool that slowly grinds away metal. It’s a bit intimidating because when it makes contact with metal, sparks fly all over the place. This is why we recommend wearing gloves, closed-toe shoes, pants, and even a face shield to protect yourself.


You’ll want to slowly grind the points where the spirals meet the vertical spindles. Then, file down the spirals to get it nice and smooth.


Filing down the spindles will leave you with some exposed steel, which is only a problem if you don’t prime it right away. So, I primed those areas and then did 2 coats of paint.
Here's how it looks after! So much better and much more modern. Instead of replacing the entire railing, I was able to save money and transform what we did have. I love when that happens.
If you want the full tutorial, check out this blog post with all of the details.
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Frequently asked questions
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  2 questions
  • Sassy Sassy on Jul 07, 2018

    Looks great! What did you do with the spirals when you got them off? They would be great for someone with a pool to hang wet towels or pool toys on!

  • Priscila  santiago Priscila santiago on Aug 08, 2018

    What you do with the spiral,do you use un another project?

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  • Sue Sanders Sue Sanders on Jul 07, 2018

    Im in the planning stage for a hand rail for my front porch. Your rail is a great safety feature for us older folks.

  • Debbie Paul Child Debbie Paul Child on Aug 28, 2018

    i loved the way it was. I know the style u are,voing for though. i would use those on a piece,of wood for a coat rack. they are beautiful.

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