# Painting PVC Stair Handrail covering?



## marie22 (Aug 11, 2014)

Hi everyone,

I am new here.  Looking forward to being a part of the community.

Does anyone have any idea how one would go about painting those plastic/pvc/vinyl handrails without removing them? They have a glossy surface.

Thanks so much. 

Here's a photo for an example:

http://www.houses-designs.com/img/pvc handrail covers.jpg


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## Caslon (Dec 15, 2007)

marie22 said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I am new here.  Looking forward to being a part of the community.
> 
> ...


They probably aren't meant to be repainted. Use a super high quality specialty primer such as XIM solvent based primer.

However...this probably won't work as those railings look like they flex when you push down on them. Check to see how spongy flexible they are. In that case, your only choice may be to use paint meant for rubber cushions and similar. It's a vinyl coating that dries somewhat flexible. RUST OLEUM Vinyl Spray. You want to see if you can get it in quarts, because its gonna turn out looking crappy using spray cans (thin and runny). If quarts are available, multiple coat it using HVLP or airless. I say multiple coats because this stuff is thin and runny, even in quarts. Limited colors.


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## MickW (Jun 23, 2014)

Also, it is not recommdended to to paint over this material with a dark color, which will absorb heat and warp the plastic. Cleaning these surfaces and be done with denatured alcohol.


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## instock (Nov 17, 2012)

MickW said:


> Also, it is not recommdended to to paint over this material with a dark color, which will absorb heat and warp the plastic. Cleaning these surfaces and be done with denatured alcohol.


I recently learned that Sherwin-Williams has some kind of "vinyl safe" system for tinting the paint. Apparently, they are trying to keep it kind of quiet. When you buy vinyl safe paint, they don't even print the recipe on the label. Does anybody know if that works?


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## avenge (Sep 25, 2008)

instock said:


> I recently learned that Sherwin-Williams has some kind of "vinyl safe" system for tinting the paint. Apparently, they are trying to keep it kind of quiet. When you buy vinyl safe paint, they don't even print the recipe on the label. Does anybody know if that works?


I don't think that's true at all, they don't use a different tint for vinyl safe paints. I think the rule is don't paint over vinyl with any color with less than a 55 percent LRV.

If they're not printing the label then somebody's not doing their job.


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## Caslon (Dec 15, 2007)

marie22 said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I am new here.  Looking forward to being a part of the community.
> 
> ...


 It'd be better to tell them to have it replaced. You're only going to muck it up trying to coat that material.


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## instock (Nov 17, 2012)

avenge said:


> I don't think that's true at all, they don't use a different tint for vinyl safe paints. I think the rule is don't paint over vinyl with any color with less than a 55 percent LRV.
> 
> If they're not printing the label then somebody's not doing their job.


No, he showed me on the computer. There is a vinyl safe option. And he did print a label. The label just didn't spell out the exact amounts because it's confidential. There are sneaky ways to increase the LRV.


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## Nick R (May 20, 2012)

I had them color match a gray and asked for vinyl safe. They had trouble getting it right because for vinyl safe, it won't add any black. They were able to work around it by adding magenta. Does it make a difference? Who knows. I just needed to paint some versatex on a repair. The color matched in the end.


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## DavidRackley (Aug 23, 2014)

To paint glossy and sleek surface, first of all surface preparation is needed, surface should be clean and free from any which interfere with the adhesion of the materials. Ordinary paint won’t stick to slick surfaces. You should apply high quality primer to a glossy surface, Primers are specifically formulated to adhere to glossy surfaces and provide a better surface for paint.


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