Sanding the glue off stairs

Q: I have a set of stairs that run along a wall and are open front and back (no risers) and each tread is wrapped in carpet. From what I can tell, these treads are 2 x 12 construction fir. My question is – If I pull the carpet off, can I sand the glue off and sand it smooth enough to be able to stain/polyurethane each tread?

I was considering applying a Hardwood Laminate to each tread, top and bottom (since each are exposed to the eye), but was worried that there is not a stair nose wide enough to cover those dimensions (1 ½ tread plus the thickness of laminate x 2). What would you suggest?

A: To be honest, I wouldn’t even bother with the laminate. I would use a random orbital sander to remove any adhesive and paint and finish them/stain them as you like.