Refinish a wooden fireplace surround
- Preparation of your fireplace surround
- Treating resinous timber
- 1st coat adhesion primer
- Making good
- Finish Coats
Preparation
Like all my other posts preparation is key to producing a quality finish. This post is about how to re-decorate a plain timber fireplace surround to a finish of your choice.
As the fireplace surround looked like had some sort of stained finish to it, I opted to use 120 grade sandpaper to sand it down to provide a key. You should always fully prepare any surface prior to painting and using sandpaper is one of the best options.
Always beware with fireplaces that the mantelpiece is always used for something. A lot of the time people put lit candles and the wax that comes off them sometimes will go onto the mantelpiece. This will need to be scraped off before painting can commence.
I used a small palm sander which is attached to a dust extractor. And simply rubbed over the whole surface of the fire surround making sure I got into the nooks and crannies.
If you don’t have a sander you need to do it by hand. And if you do it by hand you and need to clear up the dust afterwards. I usually use a dusting brush and a damp cloth to pick up any resilient dust. Just be careful not to breathe it in as you do not know what was on the surface before
First coat adhesion primer
My first coat of paint was an adhesion primer. I like using Tikkurila Otex Akva as I find it sticks to anything, Is water-based and dries and extremely quickly.
Off-the-shelf products you can find in your usual DIY store, would be Zinsser Bullseye 123 for example. Or Benjamin Moores STIX.
I opted to spray finish the fireplace surround. This would allow me to get enough coats on in a day as it atomises the paint therefore allowing it to dry quicker.
As most of you would not own spray equipment, for this project I would use a small microfiber rad roller and brush.
Use one of the adhesion primers I’ve mentioned earlier. As these are water-based (Bullseye 123, STIX and Otex) it will dry much quicker, allowing you to get more than one coat on in a day.
Cover stain and BIN are oil based but do dry quick. On bare timber I like to use water-based as a first coat primer. Using BIN as a full primer I find it is very brittle. It’s OK as a general stain blocker once stains come through, but not as full coat primer.
You only need to apply one coat. Once the paint is fully dry you can try a scratch test. A scratch test is simply using the back of your nail along the paintwork. if you have prepared properly this coat of paint should have stuck well.
You will have noticed at this point, staining with start to show through the water-based adhesion coat. This is perfectly normal as a next step is to apply a stain blocker.
Treating resinous timber (tannins)
The fireplace surround in question was made from pine so therefore the knots are quite resinous these will need to be treated to prevent staining.
You have several options for this. You can use shellac knotting directly on the knots. Shellac knotting has been used for years by French polishers to produce a deep, high polished finish it can also prevent resin coming through on knots.
You can also use a product called zinsser bin. This can be sprayed on directly onto knots from an aerosol can. It too is a shellac based stain blocker. It uses denatured alcohol as a thinner more commonly known as methylated spirits in the UK.
There are now water-based stain blockers which claim to block resinous timber. I have used these with some limited success. On this particular project I opted to use Tikkurila Multi stop. To be honest I found this work quite well on the fireplace surround.
I did use tikkurila Multi stop on the hardwood windows and cill but I found it didn’t work with that particular timber. I also used it on the skirting (baseboards) and found it worked well there. These too were dark stained pine with knots in them.
You can also use Zinsser Cover Stain to block any tannins that come through after the Multi Stop has been applied. I like zinsser cover stain because it’s dry within an hour and is oil-based and no staining is going to come through that. It can be painted over within an hour.
Making Good
Making good is still a preparation process. It basically means to make good any holes and indentations you can see with appropriate fillers.
At this point you will see that there are lots of gaps and holes to be filled. Use decorators caulk to fill in any long gaps where the timber meets. Painters caulk is basically flexible filler ready to use in a tube.
You will need to purchase a mastic gun to use the decorators caulk. Using a sharp knife you will need to open the end of the tube by cutting it and cut a 45-degree angle in the nozzle. Simply place the tube in the gun and squeeze the trigger and run the decorators caulk in line with the area to be filled.
Also use 2 pack filler. two pack filler is a solvent based filler you have to mix with a hardener. This dries very quickly and very hard. Go round and look at the holes you can see and use the filler in these holes.
Do not overfill with this filler you will find it hard to sand down. It is better to underfill and to apply second filler, rather than overfill.
Finish coats
The client opted to use Helmi 30 as their preferred finished coat. Helmi 30 is a satin finish so it dries with a slight sheen, not a shine. You can use any water based finish coats over the top. Benjamin Moore do some very good paints, expensive but so worth it.
I applied the first coat of paint as a spray finish. After this first coat has dried I then used fine surface filler to fill any surface blemishes. These were sanded down and touched over with a small brush. Once this was dry I then applied my second finish coat.
Again you can use a small microfibre roller and a brush to do the same job. You will find with a microfiber rad roller sleeve it gives a very good finish on your fireplace surround.
You may get some staining coming through the subsequent coats. If this happens simply purchase an aerosol can of BIN. This is very handy to simply spray on to the areas of staining.
As it dries quickly it will not hold you up and will allow you to paint 10 minutes or so after you have applied it.
As a fireplace surround is a piece of furniture make sure you give it a good couple of weeks before you put anything on the mantelpiece.
The reason for this is that water-based paints take anything between 3 to 4 weeks to ‘fully cure’.
Although the paint is dry within an hour it needs to go through a curing process of hardening. Just be mindful of the curing process before allowing anything or anyone to lean up against it or on top of the fireplace surround
Gareth Pihl
Hi Jason,
Just wondering why you used both a maximum adhesion primer and oil-based (Cover Stain). I know that the Cover Stain is used to stop tannin bleed, but are will Cover Stain in itself not adhere and are both required?
Jason Savage
Hi Gareth, you can just use Coverstain by itself, it should be fine to do so and then apply top coats over that. Alternatively I like to apply a water based adhesion over the top as I am applying waterbased top coats by spraying. The extra coat simply acts as a coat which shows up more of the painted area to be filled, prior to top coats being applied. But yes you can miss out the adhesion primer if using Coverstain. It’s just my preference to achieve a better finish.
Ann-Marie
Hi Jason
I’m about to remove dado rail in my living room, I think the previous owners placed these up first, before decorating. Is there anyway that I will be able to just paint over the wallpaper that is all ready up, without showing where the rail has been?
Thank you
Stay safe
Ann-Marie
Jason Savage
Hi Anne Marie. You may be able to do it, but you may be left with a band running through the middle.
When you take the rail off the lip of the paper will be raised, this will need to be cut back or rubbed down with glasspaper to remove the lip and any general loose material.
Then it would be advisable to seal the walls with 1 coat of Zinnser wallpaper coverup or Zinnser Gardz.
Once that’s done the paint the walls with one coat of your chosen emulsion colour.
Then you can fill any areas which will need filling. Use Gyproc Easi-Fill for this from any hardware outlet. You may have to fill twice after sanding down the first fill but do this first sand lightly, otherwise you may rub too much out.
After the filling is complete and sanded down, use Zinnser Gardz to seal the filler, and then touch up all filler with the paint prior to applying your final top coat.
Do not be tempted to fill any dodgy area of wallpaper until you have sealed and painted the walls first. The reason for this is that you will show the different surfaces under the paint.
The most ideal method is to fully strip and re-line the walls, but it’s understandable this is too much for most folk.
Best of luck, hope it works out for you
K lawson
We have painted our wooden fire surround with a few coats of chalk paint. Basically I don’t like the gritty finish . If we sandpaper well would it be smooth and then could we try regular or furniture paint.
Thank you.
Jason Savage
Hi, yes you can. Depends on the finish you want. An eggshell finish has a semi sheen to it and not a shine like gloss. Little Greene do a very good eggshell. Benjamin Moore advance satin or advance Matt is also very good. Or even Farrow and Ball eggshell is also good. Each can be bought at the 1 litre tins apart from Farrow and Ball which are 750ml tins. This is more than enough to cover a fireplace. Just make sure you remove the gritty finish first. Check it by rubbing your hands over the surface. Use 120 grade glass paper to achieve a good sanded finish and it will need more than one coat. Best of luck, hope it works out for you. Jason
Claire King
Hi, wondered if you could give me some advise I have a light wood fire surround, around a real fire which I would like to paint white. Been to lots of DIY stores today and no one sells heat resistant paint in white. I am being told by people I have to paint in this kind of paint.
Can you please help and advise me.
Jason Savage
Hi Claire, if it’s just the fire surround/mantle piece, then simply paint it in the paint you want. The heat of the fire is contained within the hearth area. If you have used the fire before and have noticed no damage caused by heat to the fire surround, then it’s fine to paint.
Another option could be to set a fire and after a while see how hot the area you want to paint gets. If it’s really hot then don’t paint it in your chosen paint. Instead you may have to purchase a specialist paint online. DIY shops won’t sell these types of paints. Try Rawlins Paints online https://www.rawlinspaints.com/heat-resistant-paints
Claire
Thank you so much for your help Jason.
Jason Savage
You’re welcome
Danni
Going to paint my mums wooden fire Surround for her, cannot decided weather to paint with a satin wood paint or a chalk furniture paint, what are the pros and cons? What would you recommend please
Jason Savage
Hi Danni, personally I would go for a satin finish, because of it’s ability to be cleaned properly. Chalk finishes are a matt finish and if you try to clean these with a damp cloth to remove dust, over time this becomes grimey.
But the first thing to consider is what is already on the surface. If it’s a new, pine timber fireplace then make sure you apply shellac knotting to the knots to prevent these from bleeding through the paintwork.
If it’s not a new timber fireplace, then you need to make sure the top coats will stick to the existing surface properly. Make sure you clean these surfaces down and then sand these areas down with a fine glass paper abour 120 grade.
Once your preparation is complete to be safe I would use a water based adhesion primer like Zinnser Bullseye 123 or Benjamin Moore’s Stix. Then use your preferred satin paint over the top of this.
Julie Ross
We have a fire surround which we want to paint over. We think it was waxed, originally. It’s certainly fairly knotty pine. Also, there are indeed stains from wax candles on the mantle piece… we had thought we might have to have the top shelf removed and replaced before painting, but it sounds as if you would know a way we could avoid having to do this… do you? Also, we notice that the bottom of each side is getting a bit blackened, probably a mix of the coal dust being swept from the tiled hearth and the WD40 used to clean those slate tiles on the hearth. If this began to spoil the appearance of a painted surround, could we just touch that up? This website is a fantastic resource, by the way! Thanks so much!
Jason Savage
Hi Julie, you can buy wax remover in order to remove the wax on the waxed fireplace. Use wirewool with the wax remover to get down to the timber. Once the wax is removed you will need to use knitting to apply to the knots in the knotty pine. Once done use an adhesion primer like Zinnser coverstain (it’s oil based) and then apply your water based eggshell over the top. As for the wall I would paint the whole face of the chimney breast as touching it up would show. No need to paint the sides of the chimney breast if they’re fine. Best of luck, hope it goes well
Rosanna
I am going to paint a fire surround in pine its about 20 years old and I bought it from some builders who were renovating a house. It has a few small gashes which I thought I would fill. Some of the paint almost peels off but mainly it has been painted probably just once. Can I hand sand as I have a lung complaint so have to be extra masked and careful. Then should I put two coats of primer and two of top coat and should I sand in between. I have Farrow and Ball left over from stairs and skirting. I do not intend to have a fire grate just the surround so that I can put a vase of flowers and a candle on it.
Jason Savage
Rosanna, yes you can hand sand but make sure (as you’ve mentioned) you will be wearing a mask, P3 type would be best.
As for the prep work, I would sand it back. You don’t need to go right down to bare wood, but make sure anything peeling is removed to a firm edge. Use a primer like Benjamin Moore Stix or Zinnser Bullseye 123. And then apply 2 coats of your preferred top coats.
Best of luck
Jason
Pat
Hello,
My son bought an old tenement flat with a fire surround with what appears to have a faux marble mantle and sides. It was very stained with what looked like brown circles of varnish. I’ve been scraping this off but my son is now concerned that I’m scratching the ‘’marble’. I’m not sure how to proceed. I had thought it would simply be a top coat of wax or varnish but want to be sure before I carry on. We don’t know what the mantle is made of. The underside has had paper on it with much now peeled away.
Jason Savage
Hi there, it’s a bit difficult to comment without seeing it. But if you want to keep the faux marbling and remove the stains try methylated spirits on a small inconspicuous area first to see if it removes it without removing the colour