There is no need for an alkyd paint. More importantly, white alkyd paints become yellow over time when used indoors. The first step is a clean surface. Wash it with Dirtex and let dry. Prime the surface with Fresh Start Acrylic Primer. That will provide an excellent base for quality enamels. Two coats of Satin Impervo by Benjamin Moore or, if you can buy Muralo near you, two coats of Muralo Satin Flow Enamel. SW Pro Classic is also a good choice when the other two are not available. Avoid all latex paints that are less than 100% Acrylic. Michael

Boys with shoes! My sons are now in graduate school, but I feel your pain! In one house, I used Liquid Nails to glue some of the those little carved wood appliques on my risers, painted the same white, semi-gloss. In another house, I actually painted the risers Duron Domino which is a black that reflects the colors around it. My railings were painted the same way....but that style worked with the craftsman-style house. There, they banged up the sheetrock wall going up the stairs carrying bags, guitars and laundry in from college. In my current house, I have white risers again and miraculously, they don't seem to have any scuff marks in spite of all the traffic. The white paint is Sherwin-Williams Glass of Milk trim paint in a semi-gloss. It's a Martha Stewart color. I had the entire stair wall paneled with beadboard and it's in pristine condition without any dings like the sheetrock encountered.

I would leave them as is and add a runner. I always wondered if steps without a runner get scuffed up over time? My only input is it appears your wood floor stain and stair stain is off a bit - so that draws your eye to the staircase as being a bit "off". I don't think painting the risers white will fix that and while I liked the pictures of the black risers posted, I don't think they will go in your house with the white trim. Your metal railings look bronze? Not black so that's why I don't think black risers will work. I suggest a carpet runner - I love a textured carpet as a stair runner or even an oriental type design.

I appreciate all the suggestions. Ci_lantro, I appreciate your perspective . I’m sorry i didn’t see your response earlier. I’m sure you’re right that all I see right now is the Knots (not visible on picture but extremely visible in person) however, it gets worse. I asked another painter to come in and give me an idea of how to fix, he wanted to see what was underneath cardboard and said it would need to be removed bc they failed to caulk seams and nail holes bc they sprayed, there is now paint on my hardwood stairs and I’m dread removing the rest of tape and paper to see the damage and mess they made. Is it possible to remove paint from my hardwood stairs?! I will never recommend CertaPro painters to anyone... not even an enemy.