I just wanted some feedback on the process I'm using to paint this decorative metal work. I wire brushed all the lose paint and rust off. I'm prepping it with a rust converter. I can see the old layers of paint and I believe one is latex. Anyway, I was going to use a good quality primer for rusted metal and oil based finish paint. How dose that sound?

I decided to refurbish the 11-step staircase going from my basement to the first floor. In the end, I want the staircase to look like [URL="http://www.texaswoodwrx.com/siteimages/Texas%20Woodwrx%20LLC%20Stair%20Installations%20(8).JPG"]http://www.texaswoodwrx.com/siteimages/Texas%20Woodwrx%20LLC%20Stair%20Installations%20(8).JPG[/URL] with the risers and casing in white gloss and the treads stained and varnished. Currently, there are three layers of paint on these stairs...some layers are so old that there might even be lead in the paint! Anyways, I tried sanding one tread with an electric sander, but that took 2 hours and I couldn't even get all of the blue paint off! See here: [ATTACH]52129[/ATTACH] So then I tried to use a paint scraper, but the blade got dull very quickly and I might have even damaged the wood a little. Also, no matter how low of a grit sandpaper I used with the electric sander and no matter how hard I scraped the paint on the treads, I cannot get the treads to look like bare wood—the blue paint does not go away! See here: [ATTACH]52130[/ATTACH] After hours of sanding, scraping, and lead poisoning, this is all I got done: [ATTACH]52131[/ATTACH] I have been trying to avoid using chemicals, such as liquid paint removers, but now that seems like the only way to finish this project.... Do you have any suggestions? Also, if my only option is to use a Paint Remover, which brand/type do you recommend? Is there one that is effective and not too caustic or noisome? Thanks in advance!