What’s the final step in completing the project and why was paint ultimately the best choice?

Thank you, ! She was not happy with me because she had to hang out in the spare bedroom until the paint was completely dry, so now she’s claiming the stairs as her own 😂. I didn’t sand because I was pretty sure there was lead paint under the stain under the carpet. By the way, who paints over paint still baffles me 😂😂. I used paint stripper to carefully remove as much of the stain and paint as possible, then scrubbed them well with sugar soap, which worked great. I made sure to use scuff-resistant paint since we have 3 fur babies who enjoy using the stairs for unnecessary exercise. The non-slip mats fit perfectly because our staircase is smaller than usual and cover most of the walking path. I decided not to apply a clear coat yet because I’m worried it might make the stairs too slippery even with the mats. I may reconsider after looking into different brands.