How to paint a pine staircase in a house - we understand the materials and the technology of their application

At first glance, painting the stairs is nothing complicated - pick up a brush and paint. But in order for the design to serve as an interior decoration and remain beautiful for as long as possible, it is necessary to competently approach the choice of coating and apply it correctly. Therefore, further we want to tell you how to paint a pine staircase in a house, and how to do it right.

All existing paints that can be used for stairs are conventionally divided into two types:

1. covering- cover the tree with an opaque film of a certain color, as a result of which its natural pattern is hidden;

1. Toning- these coatings preserve the pattern of the wood, but at the same time give the wood a certain color.

It must be said that absolutely transparent coatings are also used for, i.e. varnishes. Of course, our job is to paint the stairs, not varnish them. But, varnishes are often applied over the paint, which allows you to protect it from external influences and give it a deeper color.

Note! In some cases, the use of varnish is simply necessary, for example, if the stairs are covered with stain.

Choosing covering paints by composition

First of all, we note that pine does not have any features that greatly distinguish it from other types of wood. Therefore, when choosing how to paint a pine staircase, all existing wood paints can be considered as an option.

The most common and suitable for our purposes are the following compositions:

• Alkyd and alkyd-urethane;
• polyurethane;
• Water-dispersion;
• Oil.

Alkyd and alkyd-urethane

These paints are made on the basis of alkyd resins. Alkyd-urethane coatings also contain polyurethane resins, which, according to the manufacturers of paints and varnishes (hereinafter referred to as LKM), improve the basic qualities of the paint.

True, in practice, the properties of the coating depend more on the quality of the alkyd paint, and not on the presence or absence of polyurethane resins in its composition. In other words, if you get a good, expensive alkyd paint from a reputable manufacturer, it will be better than a cheap urethane alkyd.

Note! All alkyd coatings contain organic solvents, as a result of which they have a pungent and toxic odor. Of course, after drying, this smell disappears.

Of the features of these compositions, the following points can be distinguished:

• They fit well on the surface and form an even glossy or matte film;
• Possess saturated color;
• Resistant to moisture, detergents and abrasion. Therefore, they can be used for painting steps and landings.

Of the minuses, one can single out the fact that over time these compounds fade in the sun and begin to crack. But, much, as we have said, depends on the quality of the coating. Therefore, if you do not save, the coating will last a long time.

In general, we can say that most often the coloring of pine stairs is carried out with these paints. Therefore, if you do not have any special requirements for paintwork, for example, saving a tree pattern, then you can stop there.

Polyurethane

If you are looking for how to paint a staircase in a pine house so that you can forget about this procedure for many years, use polyurethane paint. It is a two-component coating, therefore it belongs to professional coatings.

Among the advantages of polyurethane paints, the following points can be distinguished:

• Resistance to mechanical stress, including abrasion;
• Resistance to UV radiation;
• Excellent adhesion;
• Durability;
• It fits well on the surface, forming an even film;
• Has rich color.

The disadvantages include a fairly high price. In addition, as we have already said, the coating is two-component, i.e. before use, the paint components must be mixed in certain proportions, so it is not as convenient to use as ready-made one-component formulations.

Water-dispersion

These paints and varnishes are made on the basis of acrylate resins and their modifications. The most important feature of these coatings is that they do not contain organic solvents, unlike all of the above analogues. These coatings represent an aqueous dispersion failure.

In other words, undissolved polymer particles form a suspension in water. After applying the paint to the surface, the water evaporates, and the acrylate resins polymerize and form a film on the surface, which can be either water-soluble or waterproof, depending on the type of paint.

Advice! For stairs, it is necessary to use waterproof paint, as the structure will often be subjected to wet cleaning.

Among the features of these coatings, the following points can be distinguished:

• They form a thin film on the surface, as a result of which they can preserve the texture of wood, even if it is weakly expressed, not to mention brushing;
• Dries quickly. As soon as the water evaporates, the coating immediately polymerizes;
• Has no smell.

Disadvantages of water-dispersion coatings also exist:

1. Abrasion resistance;
2. High cost, especially for high-quality waterproof paints.

Therefore, water-dispersion compositions are not very suitable for painting steps and landings. Of course, you can paint with them, but you will have to update the coating a little more often than in the case of using other analogs described above.

Oily

These paints have rarely been used recently, since their properties are significantly inferior to more modern coatings, which we have already talked about. Visually, they resemble alkyd paints, but they are inferior to them in terms of durability.

Their main advantage is their low cost. Therefore, if you want to restore the staircase with your own hands at minimal cost, for example, in the country, you can also use oil paint.

Choosing tinted paints

Tinting paints can be divided into two types:

1. impregnation;
2. Azure.

Impregnation

Impregnations include stains and other compounds that, unlike paints, do not form a film on the surface, but are absorbed into the structure of the tree, coloring the fibers.

According to the method of application of impregnation, it can be conditionally divided into two types:

• Finishing- do not require additional coverage. These include all kinds of compositions based on wax and oil;
• Requiring additional coverage- a transparent varnish is usually applied over such impregnations. Such compositions include stains.

Separately, it should be said about modern stains, which allow you to reliably imitate various types of wood. With their help, you can turn pine into mahogany or, for example, bleached oak.

Azure

Azures, or glazing paints, are a composition based on varnish and pigments. In other words, these are translucent paints.

Since these coatings have the same composition as covering paints, they also have the same properties. Therefore, there is nothing more to say about them.

Lucky

With regard to the choice of transparent coatings, parquet varnish is the optimal solution. It is resistant to abrasion, is not afraid of washing and exposure to sunlight.

You can also use yacht varnish. Unlike parquet, it can be used both indoors and outdoors.

In other words, the varnish tolerates weather and low temperatures well. Therefore, for processing stairs in country houses that are visited seasonally or from time to time, it is even more preferable than a parquet counterpart.

Painting technology

So, we figured out the types of paintwork materials. Now let's look at how to properly paint a pine staircase. After all, if you perform this procedure in violation of technology, even the most expensive and high-quality paint will not give the desired result.

As we have already said, pine does not have any features in terms of applying coatings. Therefore, the work is carried out in the same way as painting stairs made of larch, spruce, oak or any other species.

It includes several stages:

• Preparation of working equipment;
• Stair preparation;
• Painting.

Preparation of work equipment

In addition to the paint itself, you need to prepare the following materials:

• putty on wood;
• masking tape;
• Plastic wrap or newspapers;
• Wash.

Note! If you have a building hair dryer, a wash is not needed.

You will also need some tools:

• Paint brush and roller;
• Roller tray;
• Putty knife;
• Sandpaper;
• grinder;
• A vacuum cleaner.

Stair preparation

Before you paint a pine staircase, you need to prepare it. Please note that the quality of painting depends on the preparation, so take this step responsibly.

Preparation involves the following steps:

Advice! Upon completion of the preparatory work, try to immediately start painting so that the surface does not have time to become covered with dust.

Painting

Instructions for painting the stairs are as follows:

I must say that the impregnation technique is somewhat different from conventional painting, since the composition is not just applied, but rubbed into the surface. Therefore, when applying it, you need to make multiple circular and longitudinal movements. With ordinary painting, you need to try, on the contrary, not to run the tool twice over the painted surface.

Output

That's all we wanted to tell you about how to paint a pine staircase with your own hands, and how to do it right, so that the result, as they say, "pleasing to the eye." Finally, be sure to watch the video in this article and thereby consolidate the information received.