Painting the banister

I have been putting off this project for-ever because I knew it was going to be very time consuming.

The banisters did not look all that great when we bought the house 9-1/2 years ago.

This last 6 months have not been especially good to them either -

Lucy and her pups found them to be good for teething.

We plan to eventually take this section of the railing out and eliminate the split in the staircase - I could no longer bear to look at it in this condition. Drastic action needed to be taken! So, I did.

The BEFORE pictures..

Notice all the marks where she and her pups layed leisurely on the landing and gnawed at it. And it actually looks milder in the pictures.

The culprit...

Lucy

Yep, she looks pretty innocent. 

My DH says I should have named her "Tzu" for  "Shi# Tzu".

And sometimes he calls her Luci-fur. Really, We do love her dearly!

This is wear and tear - the Tzu's are not this tall - Thank god for little things!

I made a trip to Kwal Howells paint store and purchased a quart of water based white acrylic semi gloss paint (That is a mouthful). I sanded all the surfaces down lightly with fine sandpaper - This took some time but was essential to ensure the paint sticks and for that smooth finish I am going for. Then using a damp towel, I wiped it all down and let dry. Using a foam brush (disposable - this makes for easy clean up) to eliminate any brush marks, I tediously painted 3 light coats being very careful to not get any drips, and allowing each coat to dry before continuing

= Serious time spent here!

And now - The AFTER pictures...

 I used frog tape, it's the best - It sticks great to the carpet making it easier to paint the edges.

Much better now with no bare wood showing.

I had to  replaced some of the plugs here that the puppies chewed up.

It turned out so good - all that time spent was worth it.  :)

I still have to paint the railing between the dining and family room. So really I'm only
half way done. My goal is to have it completed by the end of June -

There, I've put it in writing now I'm committed - rite?

Thanks for stopping by, Would love to hear from you - Please leave me your comments.

Holly

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