whit gloss to replace stained doors skirting boards and ballustrades

Zinsser is the best product for this particular job but unfortunately no one can 100% guarantee that it won't chip. Typical day rate would be £170

Totally agree with the answer above Zinsser is a fantastic product and there is no real way to guarantee something will not chip but obviously following the steps what you’ve been recommended will help and the price for a qualified competent treat person in Bristol is 250 day

A typical decorator, (including myself) needs to make the job as easy and as quick as possible for him (her) self to make a job financially viable. changing a varnished / stained surface to a painted finish would incur a lot of labour and time. sanding and knotting / priming, then undercoating and finishing would be very labour intensive. to avoid this it is far quicker and easier to just paint over. however, doing so would be difficult as painting onto a varnished surface without sanding may cause the paint to chip or flake off. to avoid this, a substance known as an ETCHING primer is used. such as zinsser. this material chemically etches (bites in) to the pre existing finish providing a key for the new finish and avoiding sanding. Your decorator has advised you well and correctly stated that there are no guarantees as regards eventual chipping. just as a footnote I would recommend a very hard wearing eggshell such as VALSPAR V700 BLEND (B&Q) which as paints go, is pretty bullet proof. As regards dayrates, how long is a piece of string? personally i would charge £160 - £190 per day dependant on complexity of the work involved. good luck.

I agree Zinsser is a good product as the important thing is seal the brown so choose the right Zinsser.Use wire wool to create a key,Glass paper will scratch the wood.I would suggest using a quality oil based undercoat then 2 coats finishing paint. £170 is about right for a qualified decorator