After the glue is dry, spackle all gaps. Don’t spackle too much, like the joints between the risers and treads, unless there are huge gaps because it will make more of a mess than anything else. You want defined lines on your staircase.
I began painting exterior window trim. I did come up with a nifty trick to sanding so many pieces. Instead of one by one, pile all the pieces that are the same on top of each other, with edges flush. Then grasp the whole bundle and sand them all at the same time. Unfortunately you can not use this technique to paint them so it has to be one by one. Remember to paint all sides, even the side you will put glue on.
After all the paint is dry, join the two halves that will make the window casings on the window openings and glue. Slide them around until you have the perfect fit. Then add the top trim.
I know I said I would finish the bottom before I continued upwards but after painting that many windows, the last thing I want to do is paint interior windows so I glued on the front attic walls.
