I am currently tidying up the house doing little jobs.
The bannister rail was varnished in a dark colour, most of which I have been able to remove and will keep going until it is fully removed ( bit of a job)
The question is whether to re-varnish in a lighter colour or to prime paint, then coat with a hard wearing oil based white paint.
With varnish over a period of time, grease from hands gets into the varnish making it unstable and needing to be removed, re-varnished. With white paint, it will get a little dirty over a period of time, but if you clean it regularly with a damp sponge, it would not look too bad.
The option of leaving it as bare wood is not really an option, as removing the varnish will have caused slight noticeable damage.
What do people suggest ? I know it is a question of personal taste to a certain extent.