Oh I LOVE it! I can't wait to show my husband these photos! I ordered the company's catalogue - it's bigger than a metro phone book! LOL How did you do the wooden rail cap when you have a curved metal rail on top? I'd love to do the wood.

Thanks! The rail cap actually fit fairly well. In the places where it was a little loose we used a filler. We also measured carefully and screwed up through the railing, then glued the screws so everything would be nice and tight. The 1/2 inch decorative pieces were a little loose, too. I got painters tape the same height as the pieces and attached it to the rails, then fit the pieces over top. That held them securely enough to make sure everything was in the right place and to glue them without worrying about drips or anything moving. When I did the calculations for where the pieces should go, I put the painters tape on a metal tape measurer at the correct locations, then held it against the vertical pieces so I could transfer the tape. Once I figured that out it was really easy.

Awesome! One last question, where did you buy the rail?

Home Depot. BTW - they also have black oil-based paint in Sharpie pens. Two of them painted all the wrought iron.
Good luck, and be sure to share your pictures!

Thanks! We still have to find a place to strip them since they've been painted several times, but having seen yours, I look forward to doing mine!

I made you a before and after to show my hubby! What a difference.

Hi guys! I too have a split foyer with the same exact railings. We are about to list it for sale and are looking to add some appeal to these bland railings. Did the plastic knuckles stand out as being plastic against metal and look cheap or cheesy? It is hard to tell from the pictures. I LOVE the before and after, I just know my husband will worry that having plastic against metal will draw more attention to the railings we're hoping will just "blend" in while potential buyers are focused on all the other updates. We got quotes to replace them with wood railings and balusters but at over $3000, I feel that is money I would rather spend somewhere else.

i find your staircase fits the 63s style. i have a similar one. i would not make drastic changes and risk to loose what probably goes with the style of the house. Mixing 1980s style and the 60s is not always working. Think twice.... if you love that second option....go for it but if you want to keep the spirit of the house... dont. i d rather go with the very first option . the artistic unique one. not the one where you go to a HD or LOWES and get spindles that you will see in almost all low budget houses ... of course it s my humble opinion. BTW I remember watching a designer saying exactly the same thing. So I felt pretty good ! the 60s were not that bad. nice clean lines....

mdbowen, I have not yet bought the knuckles, so I don't know what they look like. Hopefully, crbj2284 will see the question and answer.

The new knuckles stood out until I painted the whole railing with oil based paint, and then it blended perfectly. I've had designers, contractors, agents, etc., look at it, and everyone was amazed that it wasn't "original" to the railings. I can't recommend this enough!

BTW - after everything we did to get the house sale-ready (and OMG, all the money!!!), it sold to a builder who never looked inside and plans to flatten it next month to build a mega-mansion. Go figure, huh?

What a shame! Just goes to show you can never tell.

Hi. I am looking to do similar with my railing. Mine already has wood stained med. cherry and the baluster/iron part is painted off white. It's very 80's. I will add some knuckles to mine. Crb, did you paint the wood handrail black? I am wondering what to do with the wood handrail......the iron would get painted flat black.

I haven't actually got around to doing any of it yet. I think, at the moment, we're going to just have it stripped, add the knuckles, then paint the whole thing a satin black. Personally, I would not paint a wooden handrail. Staining it a dark cherry would be lovely with black, maybe just darken the existing stain with gel stain?

Railings with the knuckles ,I got the big uns..

Thanks crbj2284 , I appreciate your reply! I just received them in the mail and am anxious to get them installed. More anxoius to get the house on the market though! That's crazy about a builder buying your house to rebuild :( Bittersweet, but at least you got it sold!!

Thanks so much for your replies on this. We took the advice above and went over to King Architectural Metals in Buena Park. Super nice people. We initially purchased the paint stripper, but with the thickness of the whte paint that had been applied in the 1980's, it would have taken us the entire weekend to get it off, so we gave in on that part and had them sandblasted. Then we picked out the pieces from Kings, and our neighbor welded the pieces on, and then we sprayed it all with rust-oleum painter touch in semi gloss black. Then we sanded down the handrails, and stained them with 3 coats of cherry stain, and we were done. The hole thing cost us about $200.00, and we are very pleased with how it turned out. The sandblasting alone was $125.00, so if your railings are already black, your in great shape and should be able to do this for under $75.00. Good Luck.

crbj2284 - How did you cut the metal piece off the handrail before installation of wood railing? Also, was the wood railing plowed to fit right over the metal railing when you bought it at Home Depot or was this something you had to go and modify yourself? Thanks!

The wood hand rail was existing, it was just covered up in white paint. It was bolted down to the metal railing, so we didn't need to do any cutting,. We just unbolted it, and sanded it down, stained it, and put it back.

Thank you!

My message was actually for the previous poster's project of restoring the 1960s railing, so I will repost it.


crbj2284 - How did you cut the metal piece off the handrail before installation of wood railing? Also, was the wood railing plowed to fit right over the metal railing when you bought it at Home Depot or was this something you had to go and modify yourself? Thanks!

Hi Kim Caminiti - Do you have a link of the decorative pieces you used? I am browsing thru http://kingmetals.com/ and cannot seem to find it. I have the same railing you had (painted over with white) and want to see if I can do same update you did.
After sandblasting the railing, did you prime the it before spray painting?
Also, how hard/long was it to update the handrail (sanding down and staining)?

Thank you!

Here is the link: http://www.kingmetals.com/Catalog/ItemContent.aspx?ItemNumber=137&CatalogId=c39&CatalogDetailId=105&NSM=Y

We did not prime it - We used a Rustoleum spray paint in black (flat not glossy) from Home Depot. Its like $4 per can. My husband used an electric hand sander and each one took about an hour to sand down,

It was an entire weekend project.

Good Luck.

I actually like the look of your railing.

Kim - thank you!

I agree with Feeny. Adding to the existing wrought iron work will only make it trendy. If anything, I'd consider painting a dark bronzy color that might pick up a little light. And that, of course, could always be painted over if you want to go back to true wrought iron.

Thanks so much. We received a message from a local real estate office asking if we would send them our photos for their newsletter. We are so happy that so many people like it, and appreciate the positive comments.

Kim do you know your baluster spacing? Ours are on 4" O.C. per local building code. Yours looks more like maybe 6" O.C. which I would think makes a big difference in appearance. I almost ordered from the link you provided until I read the dimensions and thought the spacing would be really tight.

Wow I like what you did too.

I have wrought iron railings with those hard plastic railing tops from the 60s and 70s. Obviously they are glued on. Does Anyone know how to remove them? I heard you have to use a heat gun, is that true?

Hi Patrick, I have the same ugly plastic railing tops. Please let me know if you find any more info on this. I would like to remove them and add a wood handrail on top of the metal rail. Patti

same here ugly plastic! Any suggestions how to replace them?

In April 2016, I posed the question: I have the same ugly plastic railing tops. Please let me know if you find any more info on this. I would like to remove them and add a wood handrail on top of the metal rail.`` Didn`t receive any replies so I found out how to do this on my own.

You need a heat gun to warm up the plastic on your railing. Once warmed a bit, you should be able to pull the whole thing off the metal railing. If not keep blowing heat and peeling off the plastic a bit at a time. Home Depot (and other box stores) sell oak handrails with a fillet (or plow) of wood removed to fit over the metal handrail. This is what you use to replace the plastic. You then drill up through the underside of the metal handrail to attach your wood handrail.

A link with good info:

https://www.woodstairs.com/tradepage/adding-a-wood-handrail-to-your-existing-iron-balustrade

Hope this helps!

Patti

I would like to put a wood hand rail and paint the railing . Any suggestions how to put new wood hand rail on top of what we have here .

That's not very feasable. Best to replace the entire railing if you want a wooden top rail.

Beautifully and professionally stripped, primed and painted will keep these rails looking beautiful. The rails add solid texture and they embrace the mid century look that never entirely leaves decorating. Keep it simple.

Hello! What would you recommend we do with this railing? Does the entire railing easily remove, as we plan to install hardwood floors. It seems very dated to me but I’m open to working with it. It seems like one giant piece though so how do we install hardwood floors?

Beneath the existing wood and carpet floors you will probably find a base plate with 4 screws. Your railing was probably brought into the house in a few sections and then welded together on site. To take it out you’ll probably have to cut it and then have it re-welded if you want to keep it. It is a dated railing and not up to current code as well. Do you have any ideas of what you might want to replace it with?

One persons dated is someone else’s expensive upgrade- I think it looks better than most new stairs out there...

Bigger question is how are you planning to put hardwood on the floating stairs? It’s very important to maintain a consistent step height when you install new flooring so you don’t create a trip hazard.

Simple is classic. Don’t do anything too curly or fancy.

@HALLETT & Co.we won’t be changing the stairs (for now). Thanks for the reminder on this @AP Metal Designs we will have to wait until posession to see what’s under that carpet. I do hope you are right! The temp solution we plan is to raise up the railing as much as we can to get the nosing in. Not sure how yet.

@ctdot Honestly if you are willing to be creative with paint colours you might learn to love it. Some ideas (obviously the design isn't exactly the same but it gives you a sense of how it might look painted either flat or in a metal effect):

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/15/a6/6c/15a66c91ea98fcf212119b3166d01da2.jpg

https://www.decorfacil.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/imagem-63.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/564x/f0/85/41/f0854196caeceaa474734b9cfc210f69.jpg

https://www.jackspaint.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/pawel-bukowski-3189-unsplash.jpg

https://cdn.decoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/A-metal-spiral-handrail.jpg

https://cdn.trendir.com/wp-content/uploads/old/interiors/2016/02/08/1e-colour-iffic-staircase-designs-contemporary-homes.jpg

If you pick a couple other statement items that are modernist (think 80s referencing art deco) and mix them in with the rest your your decor it will give the stairs an intentionally curated feeling. These days "matchy matchy" is out and contrasting your favourite decor style with a sprinkling of something else looks fresher. Lucky you, your house already came with a dramatic contrasting statement piece in the form of your railings. :P

@N Eaton thank you! I will browse these and look for inspiration. The railing is growing on me but first impressions weren’t great. Would you paint it black? I’m against it as it would highlight it more but my realtor strongly suggests it.

@ctdot Are you painting it with the intention of keeping it or with the intention of flipping and selling?

If it's just for your own enjoyment, I'd get a bunch of samples in colours that go well with your walls and try some swatches out.

A metallic brass paint or tarnished gold could play up the art deco angle in a more subdued/glamorous way: https://www.eclectictrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Art-Deco-vibes-Oretta-Toronto-Eclectic-Trends.jpg

Pure white, black or nearly primary colours would look pretty cool in an Andy Warhol, pop art style. Especially if paired with a pop art wallpaper/artwork and a modern light fixture.

https://www.denvertavern.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Awesome-Interior-Stair-Lighting-Ideas.jpg

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P7sM6I6pnro/WrkVeufgYNI/AAAAAAAAIX4/LtRr0BN41ek1uHsbW7k8Oze2vWHrivwgACLcBGAs/s1600/WesleyWayne_4532DeereSt_0121.jpg

https://www.cocokelley.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/john-henry-pop-art-atrium-home_8.jpg

For a mid-century inspired look, a charcoal grey could work with birch or walnut floors. Often slate tile/grey metal is paired with wood tones.

https://www.pinterest.es/pin/486670303473739905/

There's no foolproof way to make it "disappear" (painting it white was the seller's best guess and if that had worked you wouldn't have noticed the stairs!). I would experiment with drawing attention to it rather than trying to hide it.

Unless you're going to flip, in which case, may as well leave it white. :)

Thx. I really like a metal look. What type of paint do you recommend and application? We bought to live here awhile!

The black railing is about as simple and modern as you would be able to find to replace it. I’d leave it alone.

I will regroup after our floors are in. Maybe it won’t look so bad after all. We are going with stained maple floors.

Hi. Reading through this and looking for more current thoughts. Planning to freshen up by repainting them black. I will have them taken out because installing hardwood flooring. QUESTIONS 1) spray paint or brush? 2) finish? 3) efficient what to position rails in order to paint?

Pic of part of my staircase

we took our black metal handrails for our 1961 split entry way to have them sandblasted and powder coated. Inexpensive and looks new. We changed color from original black to a very light grey that had gold flake in it. Works well with our interior scheme.