First, you want to sand it really well using @ 120 grit paper (others may correct me on the grit, but you want a fairly coarse grit so that the paint will stick).

Next, use a good primer, like Zinsser.

Then the paint. Then clear finish, in either satin or high-gloss, depending on what you want, over it. You want a clear finish (polyurethane, for example, yellows), so ask at the paint store about a good one.

orange as in stained oak ...

or painted orange .. of which i wouldnt blame you for PAINTing it.. lol ...

i THINK.. tig presumes you are painting wood .... rather than putting on a new coat of paint????

ken

Thanks for the responses so far. It's wood that is stained oak. I have begun sanding and have primer--was planning on painting but I'm seeing some black stain as opposed to paint and wondered which would be best to use? I guess the stain would leave the wood grain texture whereas paint would be a smoother finish. But I would think that stain would not have the issue with potential chipping that paint could.

Thank you Fun2BHere--that helps hearing that.

I know this is going to sound crazy, but use an acrylic craft paint, not a latex. If your bannister is like mine, as many seem to be, it has a varnish, whether high gloss or satin finish, and latex will surely chip off, even with a primer unless it's an oil base, a pain to brush on and really only looks good when sprayed.

My experience is painting furniture I've been selling in a local antique mall
for the last 6 years. Many of the pieces have been varnished. I use Windex to give the piece a good cleaning, and dulling the service as much as possible, no primer, and usually give 2 coats of acrylic paint. I finish with 2 costs if a satin water base poly which gives just a hint of a shine.

I'm envious of you doing black! My home is only 6 years old, and I've been loving the black trim/doors/staircases, but can't bring myself to paint over what really is beautiful stained oak! I'm also considering selling/ moving and don 't feel it would help with the sale. I live in Tx where any wood seems to be popular. Maybe the next house! Can't wait to see what you do!

agree; use acrylic or enamel paint, not latex or oil-based

We had it painted with epoxy paint in our last house. I think it was for boats. It was from BM. We lived there about 3 years after it was painted and it was still good as new. it did take about a week to cure fully though.

Before:

after:

So gorgeous, Boop. I love the black stairs and railing with white risers and balusters thing.

Wow Boop, what a difference! While stained wood will always remain popular, classic, and traditional, the black gives a sophisticated, updated look.

While the house was on the market, what was the response to the black? Did the new buyers love it?

Thanks for the responses. I should have updated earlier but I was busy priming! I did two coats of primer; now I'm about to start painting (yes, at 11:30pm. I'm a night-owl). I did my bar stools before so I don't know why I'm making this such a big deal. I have touched up trim again and again, never a problem. This will get a lot more use though so crossing my fingers it stays nice. Keeping the kids hands off for a couple days will probably be the biggest challenge.

Boopadoo, That's beautiful! My wood is (was) the same color as your before pic.

I just took the plunge and painted our orangey oak bannister a few weeks ago. I barely sanded, then used Zinsser primer, and then painted with a Rustoleum shiny black (BM white dove for the spindles). It's fantastic and has held up to 2 messy big boys without any problems so far. I also wondered about staining vs. painting, and searched the blogosphere without any clear answers. In the end, I figured painting would be easier and there was nothing worth preserving about my bannister.

I had a trickier time with the balustrades (is that what the spindles are called.) This was mostly because I was rushing, I'd underestimated the amount of time it would take to do an even job. One good tip that I read on a blog somewhere - use a kid's paint brush to do some of the tricky spots where the spindles meet the bannister.

I'm still in the process of painting the surrounding rooms (I can only do it while my kids are at school, and when I can get a day away from work.) But doing the bannister was such a pick-me-up - a great result from not too much of an effort. I sometimes overthink these projects, and this one motivated me to do some more DIY fixes.

Cant wait to see the after trying to decorate.

Thank you - yes, the buyers did like it. The main reason I did it though was because the upstairs was really cheap parquet floor.

after:

It looked great, but the dust!!!! I dont' think I would do black again on the floor. Especially shiny black.