When I moved into my house there was a 1974 gold candelabra chandelier hanging above a what I could see, would be a beautiful staircase someday. Fast forward four and a half months and here she is! I have a whole lot of time in this project, but very little money and the results are totally worth it. When your staircase is the first thing you see when you walk in the door, it needs to be spectacular! What follows is the order in which I tackled this project, which worked well. My next post will break down how to “faux” paint your wood a different color. There is an art to it, but it’s not as hard as it is time consuming!

Investment

Time | 18 hours

Money | $150

Supplies*

• Painters Tape

• Zinsser BIN Shellac Primer

• Benjamin Moore Advance Paint for railing and face of stairs (Decorator’s White)

• Benjamin Moore Advance Paint for hand rail and pillars (a custom navy)

• Sandpaper and scraper for staircase railing

• White latex caulk to fill gaps on railing. Make sure it says paintable!

• Faux Effects Stain & Seal in Rich Brown. Apply with 4” chip brush.

• Bona Traffic HD sealer (I used Satin finish, which is really pretty darn close to a matte)

Steps

• Cleaned railing and spindles. There was lots of poorly applied caulk in places it shouldn’t have been! Scraped and sanded to get a clean base. Wipe off and ensure they are clean of dust.

• Taped to primed spindles and faces of stairs with BIN Shellac Primer. This is an oil based primer, so you can’t wash your brushes and it will not come off of anything, so be careful! The purpose of this is to ensure your “real paint” has strong adhesion and doesn’t chip later.

• Leave tape and paint spindles and faces of stairs. Two coats of Advance Paint (specifically for woodwork) with at least a 4 hour recoat time between.

• Tape to paint handrail and proceed with Advance or other specifically designed paint for woodwork. You want something nice, smooth and durable for this surface. Apply two coats with at least a 4 hour coat between.

• Let paint cure for 30 days. Dry time and cure time are different. If you skip this step and go to tape for the next step, all of your nicely white painted staircase fronts will peel off with the tape. 30 days. Sorry.

• Tape face base and sides to paint stair treads (tops). Clean with water or a TSP solution to maximize adhesion.

• Use Stain & Seal by Faux Effects (or your preference of gel stain) to “faux” your wood. Next post will demonstrate my method. Once applied without the top coat, this is VERY FRAGILE, so, be super careful walking on it. Socks only after two hours and get to the top coat as soon as possible. ABSOLUTELY NO DOG PAWS!

• Leave tape on and apply Bona Traffic HD. See post next week on how to mix and method I used to apply. You will do two coats with a two hour recoat time. This stuff cures 80% within 24 hours and is the same product used in malls! Dries as hard as glass!

• Carefully remove tape by cutting before pulling. Remove tape within 12 hours of applying second coat of Traffic HD.

• Touch up with tiny paint brush any areas needed.

• Stand back and enjoy!

Enjoy the Project

Playlist | Went through too many to list, and a couple of movies on my iPad!

Wine | More than one bottle! Lol! I sometimes have to remind myself on these big tedious projects to take breaks and step away when I get frustrated with the amount of time or otherwise I start making mistakes. Take your time and take breaks!

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