I primed the stairs before I painted them, but I don't think it was necessary. The paint color chips are there on the third step. I bought oil based porch and floor paint. It only came in in one gallon cans, so I had to buy way more than I needed.
I painted the risers first. The color was a cool grey and hard to notice at a glance.
I painted the risers dark brown. This was before there was dark brown anywhere else in the house, so i'm guessing I thought it wouldn't look as dirty if I pained it dark.
Things were going well until disaster struck. I was sitting on the steps, painting every other step on the way down (so that I could get back upstairs if I needed to). Like a flash of lightning preceding the storm, our cat, Roxas, came darting up the steps. I should have just let her run by, through the lightly painted steps and onto the carpet that had not been replaced. That's what I thought in hindsight, days later. Instead, acting on impulse, I blocked her from going any further. She immediately convulsed, panicked, and returned down the stairs. As she descended I saw her back paw emerge from within the gallon of paint. In the moment, I couldn't comprehend the implications of my cat, already more than arms length away, moving towards the new carpet in the living room and dining room.
This is what I saw:
One oil painted paw, walking into and from the dining room
An oil painted paw, encircling the dining room table.
Time for new flooring.
Again.
