I think you might be being too picky. No one is going to notice this. And he’s right. When you paint a light color right up to a dark one, you can use all the tape in the world and it will never be perfect

It is a bit sloppy. About all you can really do now, is try to scrape it off the wood part of the step, and then take a small paint brush and carefully touch up anything that needs touching up. It looks like he did use tape, but, because of the saw cuts being rough on the edges, the tape didnt fit flat enough, and paint seeped under the tape.

I was about to say the problem is that he used tape, at least it looks like he did.

Idaho Painter

How to fix paint bleed on trim

That tip would have been very helpful before we started painting the risers. We will definitely use it next time.

cat_ky that’s exactly what happened. What you suggested is what we will most likely have to do. Just a bit disappointed. I’m sure I am being picky in some spots, but other spots should be better.

If there is paint on the oak and the oak is not being painted, that's sloppy. Yes, it looks like he used tape and the paint got underneath the tape. Usually when this happens it is because the person doing the taping used his thumb to press the tape down and since the human thumb is round, it cannot reach the back edge of the tape which is the only area that really needs to be pressed down well since that is where the paint is being pushed into the taped surface. I usually use a thin bladed flexible putty knife to seal the tape at the back edge. Sometimes some paint still sneaks behind the tape, but it should be minimal. Any paint that does sneak behind should be removed after pulling the tape before asking the customer to be paid. At least that's how I would do it.

Paintguy22 any thoughts how to fix it?

Try a microfiber cloth wrapped around a narrow stiff scraper blade with GoofOff on it. Damp, not wet. You’ll have to be careful against the freshly painted risers. But you may be able to press hard enough with the knife for the nubs of the microfiber to remove the sloppy bits.

I agree with wrapping a clean rag around a putty knife. You can use rubbing alcohol or even water to clean off the paint. Some of the bigger chunks might just pop off without any rubbing after you get underneath them.

Thank you for the suggestions! We will try tomorrow.