Changing color of existing finish on stairs

designSTL

I was wondering if there was to darken the color of my stairs and handrail to an ebony color without completely stripping and sanding them down. I would like them to be dark but not entirely opaque. Would adding some type of black dye to polyurethane allow me to achieve these results? I would definitely do a light sanding of the current finish before applying. If so, what type of dye/poly to use?

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joecaption

Dark colored stairs would be a trip hazard.

chrisn

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sdsester

Ditto!

You might try a gel stain over the surface prepped as you mentioned and see if you like what you achieve. You will be using it more as a glaze than a stain. Layer and don't try to go as dark as it sounds like you want in one pass. You will need to poly over it. It will take you awhile and unfortunately, gel stains are not cheap.