Staining & finishing pine stairs

secutanudu

So I sanded this weekend, I see a bunch of black spots on some of the stairs. I used a damp cloth to clean the sawdust off, and when the wood was wet it really brought out these imperfections. THe stairs are 50-year-old pine, and are MUCH cleaner looking than before I sanded...are these just imperfections in the wood or do I need to sand more. I can try to take pictures tonight.

I can't find "NuWood" - is there another good way to clean the wood before I put conditioner & stain on them?


I found a wood floor supplier that stocks duraseal. Any particular stain and poly within the duraseal brand? Or do I just go with standard oil-based stain and floor poly?

Thanks.

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Andrew

jsheridan

Andrew, i've seen black spots on pine before, but without seeing what you're dealing with, can't say. Maybe try wiping them with a bit of thinner, you may minimize them to shadows at least. But hey, they're fifty years old, a little character has to be expected.

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secutanudu

I stained and applied one coat of poly, looks great. How long must i wait between coats? I'll do a light sanding and wipe with a tack cloth before starting each additional coat.

How many coats? I was thinking 4 thin coats oughta do it.

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Andrew

jsheridan

Sounds good Andrew, the can should specify the recoat time. As to the number of coats, a minimum of three is routine. However many you apply will just add to the depth and the look. Good to hear it worked well for you.

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secutanudu

The can actually specifies "wait for it to dry". It doesn't say an amount of time. It's "Fabulon" brand (commerical grade) that i got from a local wood flooring supplier. They recommended that along with duraseal stain, which I also used.
It's rainy here today and very humid, as it will be all week, so I'll probably just do a coat a day.

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Andrew

secutanudu

Ok, I got my 4 coats done. Came out much better than I expected, very pleased. I waited about 8-12 hours between coats, with a dehumidifier running at the bottom of the stairs a lot of the time.

Now I have to paint the risers. The treads are already white, but I'll repaint on top to match. As far as the bare pine treads...what's the best method? They are pretty knotty. I planned on using oil-based primer, 1-2 coats, then 1-2 coats of paint...all from Sherwin Williams. Thoughts?

Thanks!

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Andrew

secutanudu

Here's how they came out...I went with a shellac-based primer and it worked great.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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Andrew

LidoGirl

Did you use a wood conditioner? Also, how many coats of stain did you apply? What color stain did you go with? How are they holding up? HOw did you time it so you could use the stairs also? Thanks, I'm tackling this same project this weekend, worried about how well the pine stairs are going to take stain.

This post is a few months old, taking a chance you'll see it.

Jen

secutanudu

Hey Jen, yep I'm still here

The stairs are holding up great. Here is the procedure I used:

-Sand everything first (treads & risers)
-Used stainable wood filler on any deep gouges or scratches I couldn't sand out
-Working from the top, about 3 steps at a time (or ho many you can reach), I used a tack cloth on each tread, then applied a coat of minwax wood conditioner
-I waited 15-20 minutes (according to the directions on the conditioner can)
-Applied a coat of stain
*I used DuraSeal (pro version of minwax) stain - Colonial Maple color. It matches my non-stained red oak floors enough to not be too noticeable.
-I let the stain soak on the surfaces for 10 minutes or so, then wiped the excess
-I then repeated this process (staining) on the same 3 steps, applying a second coat of stain, wait 10 minutes, wipe off excess
-Then do the same thing on the next 3 steps (tack cloth, stain, wait 10 min, wipe off excess, then stain them all a second time)
-I let the stain dry 24 hours.

Next day(s) - poly
(I bought a good 2.5" or 3" angled brush made for oil-based finishes)
-Again, starting from the top, 3 steps at a time
-I used a tack cloth on each step, then painted on a light coat of poly
*I used Fabulon "Super Satin floor finish (they sell it at wood flooring suppliers, not HD/Lowes). I decided to go with satin instead of semi-gloss to make the steps less slippery, no idea if this was actually necessary).
-Worked my way down and followed the same procedure (tack cloth then poly)
-Wait 24 hours
-very light sanding with 220 grit sponge
-tack cloth
-apply a second coat

I applied 4 coats of poly. It's not officially "safe" to walk on until 24 hours, but I found that after about 10 hours it's pretty much fine to walk on in socks. I actually cheated and did 2 coats in one day about 12 hours apart. Leaving a dehumidier near the stairs probably didn't hurt either.

For the risers, I used shellac-based zinsser primer, 2 coats really covered even the darkest knots without any bleed-through. The only thing i regret is using satin latex paint on the risers. They seem to show a lot of dirt and are hard to clean. If I repaint them, I'll probably go with oil-based semigloss. Holds up a lot better, as the backs of your feet hit the risers more than you'd think when going down the stairs...especially if you have shoes on.

All said and done, i am VERY happy with how great the stairs look. I can't imagine looking at those ugly unfinished stairs ever again.
Hope this helps.

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Andrew

LidoGirl

eeks. sounds like you didn't have to use the stairs much during this project? Think I'm going to have to do every other step or something, or maybe work at night and sleep on the couch. Thanks so much for the detailed info. I'm trying to find the dura seal stain, I was planning on using the mix wax super fast drying floor poly, but not sure if its any good. Guess I'll talk to the floor people when I get there. My stairs already have some sort of finish on them, I dont think it's poly. There was an ugly runner on them that I ripped up and I'd like to keep just the wood, but the steps are dingy and dinged up so I thought I'd try to freshen them up. Let's hope I don't make them worse! Thanks again!!

secutanudu

If you do a coat in the morning, i'd say it'd be safe to take one trip up and down to go to bed after 8-10 hours if it's not too humid...

It's dry to the touch in like an hour....i think walking up with socks after 10 would be ok.

I did this whole project as part of a larger one moving my bedroom from the first to second floor...so nope didnt need to use the stairs much

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Andrew

jsheridan

Andrew, sorry I missed the pic that you posted. Don't know what I was up to at that point, but. The job looks great, nice work. If you apply a coat of the poly over the risers, it will help to keep the dirt and scuff marks down.
Joe

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secutanudu

I didn't know you could poly over paint. That's a great tip, thanks!

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Andrew

LidoGirl

wouldn't poly over paint make it impossible to paint again if needed? or at least very difficult? heading to the store to get some supplies...

secutanudu

i bet 1 thin coat of poly is pretty easy to sand off...

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Andrew