As one of the most high traffic areas in your home, the appearance of your stairs can either make or break a central visual space. No matter how you handle your stairs, they are going to need continual maintenance to keep looking their best. Painting your stairs is a reasonably priced solution for improving your home’s appearance. A fresh coat of paint easily covers up scuff marks and scratches while leaving your stairs looking fresh.
First Things First: Cleaning Your Stairs
Functionality is crucial in home decor. As a homeowner, you understand the use and abuse withstood by your stairs.Cleaning your stairs before you paint them is an effective step to ensure the highest quality paint job. The best paint results will be achieved if you have a smooth, dirt-free surface to paint on. It is ideal to use soapy water and an abrasive cleansing pad or scrub brush for the tough dirt and starting at the top of the stairs will help prevent dirtying the areas that you’ve already cleaned. Of course, the stairs should be thoroughly dry before applying a coat of paint.
Prep Work: Give Your Paint Something to Hold onto
Chances are that while you were cleaning, you came across some chipped or loose paint. Rough edges will make it difficult to get the smoothest paint finish. These areas must be properly prepared before you paint your stairs. Sanding your stairs removes any flakes of loose paint and essentially leaves a blank canvas for a homeowner’s painting creativity. All dust should be removed prior to priming your stairs, and the vacuum does an excellent job of cleaning any debris left over from sanding. Now is also the time to trim your stairs’ edge with painter’s tape. Although this may take a large amount of time, it will save you from any unsightly errors and make post-project clean up a breeze.
Showtime: Priming and Painting
For optimal coverage, use a coat of a high quality paint primer on your stairs. This will guarantee the smoothest finish and cut down on the amount of color coats that you will need to apply to the stairs.
After the primer has dried, it is time to add the paint of your choice. As a homeowner, you should decide if you’d like your stairs to pop or blend with your interior decor. Please read our previous blog for advice on choosing the color that best suits your home and project. As with cleaning, it is easier to paint from the top of your stairs and moving down. This helps with preventing messes. If you are worried about your stairs being too slick after painting, adding rubber grit between coats of paint could be the right option. Depending on the prior color or stain of your stairs and the newer color, you may want to add more than one coat of paint after your primer. Once your coats are done drying and no longer tacky, it is time to remove the blue time and enjoy your work!
As a homeowner, you use your stairs every day. They deserve a stylish and clean finish that leaves them looking fresh and unique. Bluenote Painting is proud to offer professional paint services that include painting your home’s stairs and look forward to serving you.
