Paint fixes everything

I consider myself a paint snob.  And a great painter, if I’m being honest.  I appreciate great qualities that some paints/primers have, like the way BIN primer covers everything, dries in a minute, and sands to silky smooth perfection.  Or, the way that Benjamin Moore ceiling paint requires ONE coat, shows absolutely no lap marks, and has a beautiful warm white shade.

I have a new obsession, though.  I found an intriguing blog post by a woman that used something called Fusion Mineral paint on her oak railing.  Check her post out here!  I immediately loved the matte finish of the paint, and sought to find a local retailer, it’s a bit hard to find.  I did find one about 20 minutes away in Barrington, IL…an adorable reclaimed furniture/gifts store called Spruce.  First, let me back up.  Our stairs.  Holy crap, they were bad. 

We had the treads refinished after we removed the old carpeting in September of 2015, but the risers had remained in this sad state since then. 

I spent a good long while pulling out staples and tufts of carpet, spackling over dents and missing chunks of wood, and sanding.  After I got a coat of primer and paint (I just used Behr Satin Ultra Pure white, same as our trim) on the risers and skirt board, things were looking better…but the country oak railing was really bothering me.  I knew we weren’t going to replace the railing right now, it was too much money and too big of a project.  I thought the best thing to do would be to paint the entire thing solid black, instead of the too-traditional black handrail with white spindles.  I searched google for ‘black painted railing,’ found the blog post, and my experiment with Fusion Mineral paint began!

I wanted a true black, so Coal Black was the perfect color.  I even splurged on a $25 fusion brush, which is very nice to use on rounded surfaces, and eliminates brush strokes. 

Ooooo, this stuff goes on like a dream!  All I did to prep was lightly sand everything, and wipe off the dust.  The paint is thin, self-levels like crazy, and dries quickly to a very modern matte finish.  This is the newel post literally minutes after application of ONE coat!

I was so excited, I just kept going and got the entire stretch of railing here done in about 45 minutes.  Not bad, considering all the nooks and crannies. 

Here are some greats shots showing how matte the finish is. 

This paint is an acrylic resin, and is actually waterproof…so I believe it will hold up perfectly under normal usage.  And because it’s matte, touching it up will be easy if needed.  They do sell a top coat if you want a little more sheen, but I’m just going to leave it as is.  It’s really hard to see, but on many of the spindles, there were these crazy curly hairs stuck in the grain.   

It drove me nuts, because pulling the hairs out, sanding, and everything else I did barely worked to get them off.  Such a dumb problem!

 But, nothing was more satisfying that covering the orange wood with smooth black goodness.

Before you say anything, YES the bottom gets dusty as hell and that sucks.  But, white trim also looks filthy with dust all the time, so you’re sort of stuck either way.  Here are bad phone pics of the way everything looks now!

I did waffle back and forth about the white risers with an all black railing, but in the end, I like the contrast.  I also like that the white risers go seamlessly into the white trim throughout the house. 

 I just love it, and can’t believe the change!

I’ve been working more on the ugly doors, and figuring out what to put on the walls going up the stairs.  Just so you know, I didn’t receive anything for free.  I just love this paint!  Read all about it, and find fun projects on their blog here.