Makeover for 'wooden' stairs

[cluelesscitizen]

I eipp d the old carpets off the stairs and possibly have a few options: 1) to purchase treads and put white decals on the risers; 2) to sand paint the stairs; and 3) to sand and varnish the stairs.

When I first uncovered the stairs I assumed the wooden boards were some kind of MDF. However, on closer inspection , although not attractive in their current state, I see there are grain patterns and so they might actually be real wood. The house was built in 1974 and I have attached photos to this. I would appreciate feedback on what they are made from by someone more informed than me. If they are actual wood, I am likely to go for the sanding /varnishing option

 

[Wayners]

That's wood.
Just be aware varnished wood stairs marks easy

 

[jj4091]

And are potentially lethal due to being slippy.

 

[SEDIY]

Removing the existing paint is a laborious job if you wish to varnish the whole tread and riser.
White painted stairs are a dust/dust bunny magnet .

 

[cluelesscitizen]

Damn that is a bummer. What is the least effective solution for my stairs then? I was thinking I could get some white decals for the risers, and maybe some planed planks that could be varnished and glued to the treads. Would have to put another layer of paint on the skirting boards too. Does this sound viable?

Another contender is to use vinyl tiles that simulate real wood. They look fairly straightforward on normal flooring but I'm not sure how difficult this would be on stairs. Perhaps I would use a mixture of decals for the risers and the vinyl tiles for the treads like with the wooden planks idea?

 

[cluelesscitizen]

Removing the existing paint is a laborious job if you wish to varnish the whole tread and riser.
White painted stairs are a dust/dust bunny magnet .

Why is removing the paint such a tough job, if you have a decent sander as opposed to doing it with sandpaper? I'm similar to the newbie on this and I didn't think it would be that bad but I want to go in with my eyes open.

 

[cluelesscitizen]

That's wood.
Just be aware varnished wood stairs marks easy

If you have a couple of layers of multi-year varnish would they scratch that easily? Or are you talking about stains and mud etc? Thanks

 

[SEDIY]

Why is removing the paint such a tough job, if you have a decent sander as opposed to doing it with sandpaper? I'm similar to the newbie on this and I didn't think it would be that bad but I want to go in with my eyes open.

Where the tread meets the riser is a pain to sand, if you have a bullnose on the tread the underside can be time consuming to clean up.
When we started this on a Victorian staircase, lots of concave angles on the stringers/skirting mean't scraping with knives to remove paint.
Also you may need to fill holes from tack strip/carpet tacks/staples.
Not saying it can't be done, it's a long job to get a decent looking finish.