First, decide on what you want the stairs to look like when done. What elements will be finished and what will be painted. The missing chunk out of the return is not a big deal;I have replaced missing pieces with stained filler to match and have also replace entire returns sometimes.

Unfortunately, someone ripped off your cove (scotia) molding where the return meets the stringer, but left it under the nosings of the treads. On a stair renovation these get replaced with new. You can purchase curved cove and shoe moldings for the curved tread.

In one picture I see cove molding where the stringer meets the wall surface and in another the molding is gone. I don't understand...what am I missing?

If you want a complete wood staircase, then laminating a matching veneer to the riser of the turn tread would address the damage to that. If you're planning on painting everything but the treads and scotia molding, then the repair is simpler.

I can't advise you on a quick fix. Whatever you do, don't apply a wax to it all.

That molding isn't missing it is just the angle of the shot. Its not visible when viewed from above. My plan was to have natural finished oak treads, painted risers, probably white, but I am not sure if I want to keep the stringers natural or paint them because I have not been able to find photos of them natural to see how it looks. The pictures below are my inspiration photos. I have dark cabinets and furniture with light oak floors so I have some leeway. I kind of like the 2nd photo best because it ties in both my light and dark woodwork. I am not convinced I could do a good job painting the spindles so replacing the spindles and hand rail at some point would probably be nice if the rest of the stair work doesn't break the bank. :)

OK, no wax. Would a palm sander hurt anything? I though I could at least try to get off the paint splatter but not sand through to bare wood.

I've seen them done that way and they look very nice. Replacing balusters (spindles) is not a big deal, should you decide to go that way some day. You pry off the returns, remove the existing balusters, insert the new, reinstall the returns and you're done. If you decide to paint the balusters, then the only reason to replace them would be that you like a particular turning over what you have now. Painting them is a breeze. A quality foam brush, such as one made by Wooster, can make a paint job look like it was sprayed on.

Install new cove molding and finish to match your treads. Not all that hard to stain the new wood to blend with the old. Because the cove does not get walked on, you can layer on stain until you get the color you're after. Then after it is completely dry, you coat with the product you choose.

You would be surprised how just the addition of a fresh coat of waterborne polyurethane will improve the appearance of worn wood. Working gently with your palm sander is basically what a pro does to screen and recoat a floor. I would rather see you work with Bona Prep and a 3M "maroon" pad to prep the stairs for coating (little chance you'd break through the finish). The Prep will help remove dirt and contaminants and the maroon pad will help scrub away paint spots. Careful use of small tools to pick at the paint sometimes helps also.

Good luck with your stairs.

Thank you so much for your help. I will try the products you suggest first and then contact the person who did the finish on my floors to see if they will screen and recoat the treads if I can get them looking good enough. Do you have any recommendation for paint products or varnishes for the risers and stringer? I want something high grade that looks and wears like a professionally done finish.

Sorry to bend your ear again, I do appreciate your help. It seems General Contractors don't like to deal with stairs around here. So I am hoping this turns out to be something I can do.

You can get Bona Prep at a floor materials dealer. For a list of dealers that handle the product, go to the Bona USA internet site and type in your zipcode.

As for a finish...Bona Mega waterborne polyurethane is good and will be easy to use...no mixing. You can get that at the same dealer. The big box store stuff is OK, but most professionals won't touch the stuff.

You will want to touch up scratches and bare spots with some stain before coating with Mega. The finish hides NOTHING...so you want to get the stairway looking as good as you can before you apply it. Again...foam brushes work great for that also. If you apply the finish...all you do is 'wet' the surface...that will prevent drips. Work from top to bottom and in about and hour you can go back up and apply another thin coat...and another...and so forth.

You can leave a heavier coat on the treads themselves, as you have no problem with drips there. Just make sure the finish doesn't drip over the edge of the treads.

GC's won't touch most floor work and they don't have the patience or time to mess with stairs.