Refinishing the Attic Stairs On The Cheap

not magical

My hands down favorite place in the whole house is our finished attic - also referred to as our game room.

It has a high ceiling, exposed beams, light filled windows on three sides and gorgeous wood floors. We've put a giant old table up there so I never have to put puzzles, painting or board games away, Jeff has set up his sewing machine and gaming systems and we're in the process of turning two twin beds into a cozy sectional sofa. (Just waiting on Ikea's supply line for the items we need!) 

But the stairs leading up to this magical place? Well they looked like stairs heading up to an attic. I mean - thats what they are, of course, but something needed to be done about these grungy, neglected steps.

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the up close grunge

Also - I really wanted a reason to get a
heat gun.


I live by a maxim of asking whats the worst that can happen and in this case it wasn't going to get much worse than this. So these steps became a training ground for me to learn a thing or two about paint stripping, staining and where my very basic skills stopped. 

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The stairs were painted this offensively neutral beige that invites you to turn around and not make the climb. The trim was painted with a reddish brown that I believe was created by someone who had had wood described to him but never actually seen any himself but thought he could make a paint color to look like wood, anyways. (I've been seeing this on fences and decks in the past few years and I would like for this to stop. Please. You're not fooling anyone that you've just painted wood. So pick a better color.)

The trim paint came off like a dream. Seriously - this was so satisfying and exactly what I was hoping to achieve when I decided that I must have a heat gun. Its hard to tell from this photo but this is the same area - before and after stripping. 

The actual steps, though? That was a disaster. This is when I discovered that not only is this paint that is obviously meant for a very industrial purpose of covering floors does not curdle up into satisfying strips that can be peeled off like a sunburn, but instead barely bubbled up into tiny little blisters before adhering back to the surface...like a sunburn? 

Oh, and look what I found. Another coat of paint under the first one. 

Same location as above, but with a cherry stain

I tried other removal processes. I got chemical removers, I sanded like crazy - but eventually I realized this was a fruitless task and whatever I was hoping to reveal under the paint was proving to be a let down, anyways, based on the quality of the wood on the trim that I was able to strip. 

Time for a pivot! 
I decided to stain the trim - it came out ok. Not the best but I'm fine with it. 

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Next was the steps. I bought Rust-Oleum Interior Floor paint in black and painted the treads. The paint itself came out this gorgeous, chalky black and I was thrilled with it. But then I had to put the top coat on - which is essential to it being a paint that will withstand walking, and it stopped being matte and I loved it a little less. I know now that they also make a matte top coat. I would have definitely preferred that!

We had Diamondhard RePurpose paint in Glacier Mist left over from painting our kitchen back splash and I used that on the risers. 

The definitely look better now than they did but we still aren't done. Installing a runner is on the agenda one of these days...