New to UK, we have 2 problems: 1) Chipping paint on doors after sanding and repainting, and 2) Best paint for wood stairs that won’t chip with walking?
Asked by Lina Bernard 
3 months ago
Last Updated: June 25, 2024
Hey everyone,
Quick update.
We’re new to the UK and bought a fixer-upper.
Now we have a couple of issues:
1. The doors were painted with oil paint, so I sanded them down and used a good home (B&Q) brand glossy paint for wood and metal. Unfortunately, it’s already chipping and peeling with just a touch. Any advice on what I did wrong? And what should I do differently for a proper job because if I have to sand it again, I want to get it right.
2. We removed all the carpeting and are loving our old stairs. I sanded them down, but the old paint is being stubborn. Any recommendations for the best paint or brand for wood stairs that won’t chip from walking on them? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
To repaint without issues, you should use an oil-based primer over your oil-based paint or else it will chip as you are currently experiencing.
In my opinion, no paint is ideal for stairs … it will all chip. An alternative could be using a solid color opaque stain that comes in various colors.
I’ve been painting interiors professionally for 30 years. You may not have sanded enough of the shine off the oil paint and you likely applied the new paint in thick coats. The idea that painting water-based paints over oil paint is sure to fail is completely false.
Stairs and floors should be painted with high-quality floor or porch paints. Oil paint is recommended over water-based finishes. They may wear faster than polyurethane floor finishes but are easier to touch up. Proper preparation is key. Degrease, clean, and sand. Anything that will be walked on needs to be sanded to bare wood. Use oil-based primers. Apply finish in thin coats with proper sanding and dust removal between coats.
When it comes to the doors, is the paint chipping down to the old paint or down to the raw wood? You’ll need to clean them, scuff sand, and then use a good adhesion primer like Stix. After that, a good door paint is Command from Benjamin Moore. For the stairs, a good paint for the treads is treadplex from Sherwin Williams. You can use a quality trim paint like Command for the risers.
I just realized you’re not in the US so those products may not be available to you. I’m not sure what products are sold over there