Paint or stain your stair treads?
Written by Scott Jones, The Stair Guys, independent staircase measuring and sourcing specialists·Last updated
Paint or stain is really two questions, because a staircase is not one surface. The risers, strings and spindles barely get touched, so almost anything looks good and lasts on them. The treads are different: they take feet, grit, pets and everyday traffic all day. Decide the treads first and the rest follows.
Why the treads are the hard case
Every finish on a tread is wearing from the day it goes down, and it wears fastest on the nosing, the front edge you catch with every step. That single fact drives the choice. A finish that wears in and can be touched up will keep looking acceptable for years. A finish that wears as a hard line, and cannot be patched without it showing, will look tired quickly no matter how good it looked on day one.
Paint
Paint gives you any colour and, because it is opaque, it lets you use a cheaper or less pretty timber underneath, which is exactly why painted stairs are so common (what they should be made of is covered on the painting a staircase page). The downside is on the treads: paint is a film on the surface, so it chips, scuffs and wears through on the nosing, and once it does, a touch-up patch tends to show as a slightly different sheen or shade. On risers and strings, where there is no traffic, painted finishes are excellent and hard-wearing.
Stain, oil or clear finish
A stain or a clear finish shows the timber rather than hiding it, so it needs a tread worth showing. In return it wears far better underfoot, because the colour and protection are in and on the wood rather than a separate skin, and it is much more forgiving to refresh: an oiled tread in particular can often be cleaned and re-oiled without a full strip. The trade-off is that it will not hide a plain or patched timber the way paint will. The full run of clear options, oil, hardwax oil, varnish and lacquer, and how they compare, is on the finishes page.
| Consideration | Paint | Stain or clear finish |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An opaque film on the surface | Colour and protection in and on the timber |
| Wear on treads | Chips and wears through on the nosing first | Wears in more gracefully |
| Touch-ups | Hard to patch invisibly | Easier to refresh, oil especially |
| Hides cheaper timber | Yes | No, it needs a timber worth showing |
| Best used on | Risers, strings and spindles | The treads that take the traffic |
The answer most people land on
Put those together and the popular choice makes sense: paint the risers, strings and often the spindles for the crisp painted look, and stain or oil the treads so the part that takes the wear is the part that ages best and is easiest to refresh. It also usually costs less than an all-hardwood stair, because only the treads need to be a timber worth showing. Whichever way you go, keep the tread finish slip-resistant, which is covered alongside the finish choices on the finishes page.
Frequently asked
Should I paint or stain my stairs?+
Decide on the treads first, because they take the wear. A stain or clear finish soaks into the timber, wears gracefully and is easy to refresh, so it suits the treads. Paint is a surface film that chips and shows wear on the nosing and is hard to patch, but it is excellent on risers, strings and spindles that get no traffic. That is why many people paint everything except the treads, which they stain or oil.
Do painted stairs wear badly?+
Only on the treads. Paint on the risers, strings and spindles is hard-wearing and looks crisp for years. On the treads, though, it is a film that chips and wears through on the front edge, and touch-ups tend to show. If you want painted stairs that keep looking good, painting everything except the treads, and staining or oiling those, is the usual fix.
Can you have painted risers and wooden treads?+
Yes, and it is one of the most popular finishes there is. Painted risers, strings and spindles give the clean painted look, while stained or oiled treads take the traffic and are easy to refresh. It often costs less too, because only the treads need to be a timber worth showing off.
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