Chalk Paint to Transform Ugly Stair Railing

Do you have a space in your home that makes you crazy every time you look at it?  I did!  The stair rail leading to my basement always looked dirty because it was covered in stains. Anything but pretty! Using chalk paint to transform ugly stair railing saved the day!

How to Paint Stair Railing using chalk paint:

The before pictures don’t look absolutely horrible until you get an up close peek.

Chalk Paint to transform ugly stair railing BEFORE:

Now take a look at an up close view. See what I mean?

You are probably thinking I just didn’t clean them well.

That is only partly accurate. 😉  I tried several times to get the markings and stains off with no luck. The paint was patchy, faded and there were several stains that couldn’t be wiped away.

So, of course, chalk paint came to the rescue for me yet again.

Painting this rail had been on my project list forever.  But, I always kept pushing it down on my list of priorities – until I painted my dining table.  Black chalk paint was used to update that piece of furniture (you can read about that here!).  Since I already had all of the supplies out, I went for it!

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Supplies for painting stair railing:

• Black Chalk Paint. (I used Amy Howard One Step Paint in black from Ace Hardware.  It wasn’t available on Amazon, but this brand looks like it would work great for this project.)
• Paint brush
• Painter’s tape
• Clear wax
• Lint free cloth to apply wax (I use an old sock)

Steps involved with painting a stair railing:

This project was fast and easy; my favorite kind of project.

1. Clean stair railing and let dry before painting.
2. Tape off any areas you do NOT want paint.
3. Paint the railing and allow to dry.  Chalk paint dries very quickly.  In about 30 minutes it was ready for the next step.  If using a lighter color, you’ll likely need two-three coats.  I used one coat with the black and went back for touch ups only.
4. Apply a thin layer of clear wax for greater durability. Wait 24 hours after wax application before use.

Chalk Paint to transform ugly stair railing AFTER:

With all of the hands that touch this railing, black is perfect!  I added the pretty sign from Kirklands (I had a coupon burning a hole in my pocket).

The boob light (yes, I said it 😉) isn’t going anywhere. Since it is a stairway leading to the basement, the angle and space won’t allow for much variation from that.

Here is a closeup of the newly painted black railing:

It was a small change, but it made me happy.  I can finally check this off the project list!

Do you have anything in your home that’s making you crazy?  Tell us all about it in the comments below.