How to Stencil Stairs

Prepare the stair risers. Wipe them down with a clean, damp cloth. If there are cracks or nail holes, fill them with paint-able caulk.

Paint a primer coat on the risers if they aren't painted already. Let dry, then paint the background color if you've decided to use one.

Make a template for marking the center points of each riser bother vertically and horizontally. Cut a piece of cardboard to the exact size of the risers. Mark the middle points. Use a paper hole punch to make holes at each of the marks. Lay the template against the face of each riser and place a pencil mark in each hole.

Start stenciling at the top-most riser. Measure the stencil vertically and horizontally and mark the middle point of each on the stencil. Align the marks on the template with the pencil marks on the stair risers. Do this each time as it's essential that the stencil is placed on each riser in the identical position as all the others. Tape the stencil into place with tabs of masking tape at the corners.

Put some of the stencil paint (special paint that comes in small 4 ounce bottles) on a palette--a paper plate works well for this. Have water and some newspaper at hand. Dab the dry stencil brush--a round, natural bristle brush with a blunt cut tip--in the stencil paint. Next tap the blunt end bristles on the newspaper and rub the bristles around on the newspaper in a circular motion to off load some of the paint.

Tap the stencil brush on to the stencil, leaving paint on the riser where the stencil is cut away. This gives a stippled paint look. Or, another technique is to swirl the brush bristles around in small circles. This will give a softer look to the paint. Once this riser is finished, repeat the process with the others.

After the stenciling has dried for at least a day, come back and paint on 3 to 4 coats of clear polyurethane varnish to protect the stenciling with a clear hard coat.