How to Paint a Staircase, Handrail, and Spindles: The Professional Way

The staircase is one of the most visible and most demanding surfaces in any North London home — a focal point on entry, a high-traffic zone every day, and a structure that combines multiple different materials and profiles into one complex decorating job. Getting a staircase repaint right requires proper preparation, the right products for each element, and a logical sequence of work. Here is how Hampstead Painting Company approaches staircase painting.

Understanding the Components

A typical Victorian or Edwardian staircase in North London consists of:

• Treads: The horizontal surfaces that are stepped on — usually timber, often painted but occasionally bare wood or carpeted. If painted, these receive the most wear of any surface in the house.
• Risers: The vertical faces between treads — typically painted in either a gloss white or the same colour as the skirting.
• String: The diagonal timber panel connecting each step — often in eggshell or satinwood.
• Spindles / balusters: The vertical members supporting the handrail — painted in gloss or eggshell white on most period staircases.
• Handrail: The rail gripped by users — traditionally in a dark-stained timber or painted in eggshell or gloss.
• Newel posts: The larger structural posts at the top and bottom of the flight — often a feature in their own right on Victorian staircases.

Preparation: The Most Important Stage

Proper preparation on a staircase is time-consuming but essential. Decades of repainting means that most Victorian staircases have thick paint build-up — particularly on spindles, which accumulate layer upon layer and lose their profile over time. Our preparation programme includes:

• Stripping paint from heavily built-up areas, particularly spindles and newel posts, using heat gun and scraper or chemical stripper
• Sanding all surfaces to remove loose paint and provide a key for new coats
• Filling and repairing any cracks, splits, or holes with appropriate filler
• Priming bare or stripped timber with appropriate wood primer before applying topcoats

Product Selection for Staircase Painting

Given the wear a staircase receives, product choice is critical:

• Treads: Specialist floor paint or a hard-wearing satinwood — something tough enough to withstand foot traffic. Standard wall eggshell is not appropriate for stair treads.
• Spindles, risers, and string: Quality eggshell or satinwood — water-based for quick drying and low odour, or oil-based for the smoothest possible finish. Hampstead Painting Company often uses Mylands oil eggshell on staircases where the finest result is required.
• Handrail: The most handled surface in the house — specify a hard-wearing eggshell or consider leaving hardwood handrails in their natural stained finish for both durability and aesthetics.

Sequence of Work

Work from top to bottom: ceiling and walls first, then handrail and newel posts, then spindles, then string and risers, then treads. Allow each element to fully dry before moving to the next, and plan access carefully so that wet surfaces are not contaminated by foot traffic. Ready to have your staircase professionally painted? Request a free quote from Hampstead Painting Company.