How to Paint Stairs Professionally

An Easy Guide to Painting Stairs

Painting stairs presents some obvious problems. They’re a key part of your home, allowing you to move between bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and other living areas. The easiest way to paint stairs while still living in the house is to do it in stages. Paint every other stair during your first session so you can still walk up and down using the unpainted stairs while you wait for the paint to dry.

First, you need to decide what color you want to paint your stairs and purchase the paint. You also need to purchase a slip-resistant paint additive to prevent your stairs from becoming slippery. While you’re buying supplies, don’t forget to get some painter’s tape, making it easier to paint your stairs neatly.

Begin by lightly sanding down your stairs to create a fresh surface for painting. Wipe them down with a damp microfiber cloth to remove dust generated by the sanding. Apply painter’s tape to the walls around the stairs to protect them from stray brush strokes. Paint all the risers and every other stair tread in your chosen color, and then wait a few hours for them to dry, depending on the climate you are painting in.

Once the paint is dry enough for you to stand on it without smudging it, you can paint the remaining stair treads. Consider marking the dry stairs with tape to help you remember which ones are dry and wet.

If your stairs are made of wood, you should use a large bristle brush to apply the paint in the wood grain direction. Rollers are suitable for use on cement stairs and allow you to cover a large area quickly.

Depending on the material that your stairs are made from and the type of paint you use, you may need to apply a second coat to get a perfect finish. If you need to do this, follow the same steps again (except sanding) to give each part of the stairs a second paint coat.

Now that you know how to paint steps the easy way, are you ready to try it yourself? If not, putting the job in the capable hands of professionals allows you to relax in the certainty that the work will be done properly and promptly. Contact Paintzen for an interior painting quote today.

How To Make Stairs Non-Slip?

If you want to paint your stairs but have concerns about how slippery the final result will be, don’t worry. You can mix a slip-resistant additive into your paint to provide extra traction and reduce the risk of slipping.

Slip-resistant additives don’t change the color of paint, but they give it a small amount of texture to increase friction between the stair and your foot. Of course, even stairs that have been painted with slip-resistant paint are likely to be more slippery than carpeted stairs, so you should still take care when going up or down them.

You’ll want to mix your slip-resistant additive into the paint you are using, following the instructions on the packet to ensure you get the correct ratio. If you don’t have enough additives to make all your paint slip-resistant, you can paint the stairs’ treads with the anti-slip paint and the rises with untreated paint.

Before you start painting your stairs, sand them down to create a fresh surface that the paint can stick to. You can either use an electric sander or a handheld sanding block to prepare your stairs, although the electric sander allows you to work much faster.

When painting your stairs, it’s a good idea to apply the painter’s tape to the walls on either side of the staircase and any other adjoining surfaces that you don’t plan to paint. This tape protects these surfaces from stray brush strokes and splashes of paint.

Using a large brush, paint each stair tread with the anti-slip paint. Leave the stairs for at least a few hours to give them time to dry. If the coverage isn’t as good as you hoped for, apply a second coat of slip-resistant paint to provide an even finish. When your stairs are completely dry, try carefully walking up and down them in socks, bare feet, and shoes to test the paint’s slip resistance.

Ready to paint your stairs? You can get everything you need in a DIY paint kit from Paintzen. Alternatively, we can organize a painting crew to handle the job for you, too.

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