Commercial Staircase Spraying
Metal staircases, fire escapes, balustrades and handrails recoated in place — no dismantling, no replacement, and the stairs stay in use while we work. UK-wide.
Free site survey and written report. No obligation.
The work in practice
Staircases we have sprayed
External escapes and internal feature stairs, finished in place.
The work
The staircases we spray
This is a commercial service for the metal stairs that buildings depend on — not a decorating job on a domestic banister.
Internal steel staircases in offices, factories, warehouses and retail units. External fire-escape staircases, exposed to the weather year round. Balustrades, handrails, stringers and landings — the parts hands touch and eyes land on every day.
A staircase that is worn or discoloured is more than an eyesore. It reads as neglect to staff and visitors, and on an external fire escape the same wear is usually the start of corrosion in the steel itself. Spraying deals with both, at a fraction of the cost of replacement — because the most expensive part of replacing a staircase is never the steel, it is taking the old one out and putting a new one in while the building works around the hole.
Restore, not replace
What spraying does for a tired staircase
The finish is applied by spray, not brush, so it goes on as one uniform coat — no brush marks, no thick edges on balustrade spindles, no missed faces behind handrails. Spraying also uses less paint than brushing or rolling the same steel, because the coating goes exactly where it is aimed.
On external stairs the system is chosen for exposure: it protects the steel from UV and fading as well as from water, so the colour holds instead of chalking off in a couple of summers.
And because it is a coating, not a construction job, the colour is yours to choose — any BS or RAL reference, matched to a rebrand or to the rest of the building.
One uniform finish
Sprayed, not brushed — even coverage across treads, stringers, spindles and rails.
A fraction of replacement cost
The staircase stays where it is. No fabrication, no crane, no hole in the building.
Built for exposure
Systems specified for external steel — UV, fading and weather resistance.
Not sure if your staircase can be recoated?
Send us photographs, or book the free survey and we will tell you either way — including when the honest answer is that the steel needs more than paint.
Buildings in use
The stairs stay usable while we work
A staircase is never just a surface — it is a route. An internal staircase moves people all day, and a fire escape has to stay available for exactly as long as the building is occupied. So we never take a whole staircase out of service.
The work is phased flight by flight or stairwell by stairwell, agreed with your facilities team before anyone arrives. Where a building cannot spare a staircase in the working day, we spray at night or over a weekend. Work zones are contained and sheeted, the coatings are low-odour, and each section is back in use as soon as it is dry.
This is the same discipline as the rest of our on-site spraying work: the building keeps operating, and the programme fits around it — not the other way round.
Specification
Preparation decides how long the finish lasts
Stairs take more punishment than any other painted steel in a building — footfall on the treads, hands on the rails, weather on a fire escape. So the preparation is most of the job: degrease, abrade the existing coating, repair damaged areas, treat any corrosion, then prime where the substrate needs it before the topcoat goes on.
Where an external staircase has corroded heavily, coating over the top is a waste of everyone’s money. In those cases we take the steel back to a sound surface first — see shot blasting — and the survey tells you honestly which situation yours is in.
The finished system is a hard-wearing two-pack coating and carries a coating guarantee of up to 20 years, confirmed in writing with the quote.
If you want to understand the process in detail before you speak to anyone — how a metal staircase is prepared, sprayed and cured, and what suits steel stairs — we have written it up plainly in our guide, how to spray paint a staircase. This page is about having it done for you; the guide is the background reading.
Compliance
Accreditations, RAMS and insurance
Everything your procurement team asks for, in writing, before we get on site.
USP Coatings is CHAS accredited and every operative holds a valid CSCS card. We carry £10 million public liability insurance and send the certificate with the quote. Full risk assessments and method statements — RAMS — are issued for approval before any work begins, on every project, without being asked.
CHASHealth and safety pre-qualification
CSCSCarded operatives on every site
IPAFPowered access, MEWPs
PASMAMobile access towers
CITBRegistered training and skillsFAQs
Staircase spraying FAQs
Do you spray internal staircases as well as external fire escapes?
Yes, both. Internal steel staircases in offices, factories, warehouses and retail buildings, and external fire-escape staircases, together with balustrades, handrails, stringers and landings.
Is spraying really cheaper than replacing the staircase?
Substantially. Replacement means fabrication, removal and installation while the building works around it — the steel itself is the smallest part of the bill. Spraying restores the staircase where it stands.
Our fire escape is rusty — can it still be coated?
Usually, if the steel underneath is sound. Corrosion is treated as part of the preparation, and heavily corroded steel is taken back to a clean surface by blasting before anything goes on. The free survey establishes which your staircase needs.
Do the stairs have to go out of use?
Not entirely, and never all at once. The work is phased flight by flight or stairwell by stairwell, and we spray at night or over weekends where a staircase cannot be spared in the working day.
Can you match a specific colour?
Yes — any BS or RAL reference, so the staircase can match a rebrand or the rest of the building.
What guarantee do you offer?
A coating guarantee of up to 20 years, confirmed in writing with the quote.
Where we work
We are a national contractor and we come to the building. Staircase spraying teams work UK-wide, from a single fire escape to the stair cores of a multi-site estate. Head office is in Bradford. Send us the postcode and we will confirm survey availability.
Next step
Book a free site survey
We come to the building, assess the condition of the staircase and the steel under the existing finish, and send a written report with a fixed-price quote. No charge, no obligation.
- Survey and written condition report, free
- Fixed-price quote and coating specification
- RAMS and insurance certificate supplied with it
Prefer to talk it through first? Call 01134 364 364 or email letstalk@uspcoatings.co.uk.