Problem with that idea is that never in that house's 130 year history were the spindles anything but a painted finish. And the same is true for every other Victorian house. That said, the primer is the most important coat, and it should be brushed into the wood. how you get it on the wood is your choice; you could paint-pump and brush in, or roll on and brush in. The spindles could also be dipped in thinned primer and hung to dry, catching the drips with a brush. With cedar, oil primer is de rigueur Casey

As an experienced spindle painter...here's my take on your last post :oP What's the worst thing you could end up with? Black paint you're not in love which, which could then be repainted gray or painted another color. Painting those larger pieces is SO MUCH Easier and less time consuming than the spindles! If you paint the spindles and still don't like the other pieces with the white you have to repaint the spindles which are freaking time consuming and fussy! Try the easy road first LOL

Let's compare to cost of reSURFACING the treads = $200 stair/riser combination. Hmmmm. The $40/tread looks pretty good. If you have 10 treads = $400. If you have 20 treads = $800. Hmmmmm...I'm not seeing an issue. The 'average' tread count (just off the top of my head) is around 13. That means $520 for the trread/risers to be refinished. That's one HECK of a deal! Let's look at the cost of a PROPERLY installed (to code) railing. If you have 10ft the cost of the railing $80/lf = $800. If you have 20ft then it costs $1600. Shall we assume the railing INCLUDES the spindles, newel posts, AND matching the stain of the treads??? If it does, you are in a SWEET spot! To save more money, you would have to break code laws and have a dangerous railing...and that costs way more in the end...than if you just do it properly the first time (home owner's insurance does NOT cover damage/injuries with non-code meeting items...like railings and stairs). Remember: Stairs require knowledge of AND COMPLIANCE WITH 15+ different code requirements. The $80/linear foot = paying for a company to KNOW what those are...AND to do it properly. The materials are relatively easy...it's the KNOWLEDGE that is so expensive.

Houzz won’t let me edit my post.. the carpet is being replaced with a TBD neutral. Can’t do wood stairs at this time.. plywood is under carpet.