This was a lot of work, but I’m almost done. I stained the railing, main posts and steps with gel stain (java color). I wound up using it almost like paint, simply because I couldn’t get a consistent look otherwise. I then coated with many coats of wipe-on polyurethane.
The walls were primed with Kilz Original after a lot of patching (the previous owners were hard on the walls). I then painted with 2 coats of Sherwin Williams Duration, ‘Torchlight’ color. This is a somewhat bold color, but it’s what I used on the hallway wall on the second floor and this was just completing that work (I still had an unopened gallon of it).
Masking and painting the spindles took what feels like forever. They’re oak, so they got 2 coats of Zinsser B-I-N primer (to prevent tannins from seeping into the topcoat) and then 2 coats of paint. There were a lot more of these spindles, since there is railing all along the second floor hallway.
The baseboard on the landing is new, and the same as what I used on the second floor. I squished it tight to the carpet, and wedged cut pieces of aluminum flashing underneath to protect the carpet while painting it. Worked great. The carpet will get replaced, but I haven’t made up my mind on the carpet choice.