Painting - painting/staining banister

we are installing a new banister/handrail and I want to get it painted and stained before instalation. I am staing the handrail and newels and want to paint the balisters. The balisters come sanded and primed. What metheod would you suggest for painting these white? Spray paint? If so, what kind? I don't want brush stroke marks- Help! Any help you can offer would be great- I have never done this before!

also, after I stain the handrail, what is the best finish to but on it so it wears well?

:)

After the stain is dry you need to finish with varnish/poly. 3 coats are usually sufficent - sand between coats.
Although the ballisters/pickets come primed and sanded you need to check them over as they usually need more sanding. Spraying is an option but not with spray cans - they don't apply enough paint. Either oil enamel or latex [maybe add some floetrol] will coat them well with minimal brush strokes using a good brush and a little care. If you were to get some unslightly brush marks you can sand them down and recoat with a thin layer of paint. Brushing the flat areas up & down and the turnings sideways gives best results :)

Thanks for your suggestions. One more question, do you think the oil based is more durable then latex? :)

Oil base enamel dries harder than latex. White oil base enamel tends to yellow with age. I highly recomend SWP's waterborne enamel. It cleans up with water but dries as hard as oil base without yellowing.

marksr- thank you for the help. I did use the waterborne enamel you suggested and it worked GREAT! The painting was a tedious process but the end result was worth it!