Floor painting stairs: Do I need to remove old paint?

[MrFalafel]

I want to paint my stairs black. The tin of floor paint says I need to
remove all old paint and sand and clean etc. Why can't I just clean
the stairs, remove loose paint and paint over existing paint?

[Steve Walker]

You can.

[Simon Avery]

mrfa...@yahoo.com (MrFalafel) wrote:

Hello MrFalafel

> M| I want to paint my stairs black. The tin of floor paint says
> M| I need to remove all old paint and sand and clean etc. Why
> M| can't I just clean the stairs, remove loose paint and paint
> M| over existing paint?

You *can*, and it may not make any difference (other than an uneven
paint surface if applying to chipped paint).

The reason that warning is given is to cover the manufacturer because
they don't know what sort of paint you're covering or the state of the
surface. Paint doesn't stick to bitumous paints (not uncommon under
previously carpeted/tiled surfaces), or if the existing paint is flaky
or dusty, in which case the life of the new paint won't be up to their
guarantee.

So basically, try it if you want but if it fails within a "reasonable
time", don't blame the manufacturer because you didn't follow their
instructions...

--
Simon Avery, Dartmoor, UK
uk.d-i-y FAQ: http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/
Personal pages: http://www.digdilem.org/