Stair Finish - wood or paint

TRM

Hi

I live in a 1925 house and was removing the paint from the staircase. Under the paint was a what looked like a dark mahogany finish. The house has some mahogany in it, so I was not surprised. However, there were a couple of areas that showed another finish under this wood like finish. Can anyone tell me what this is? I would like to go natural wood if I can, but I'm undertain what the material is under the stain. I've attached a photo which may help explain it.

Thanks.

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joewho

It could very well be a faux finish. More commonly found on older furniture, just stains grained on the wood. Can't tell for sure from the picture, but it looks like it might have been filled and then faux grained. This is why some areas appear to be mahogany while others don't. But this is pure speculation on my part.

Even though there may be more mahogany in the house, it's most likely doors or trim.

The stringers (in the picture) weren't usually done with mahogany.

My suggestion (and it's only on opinion), is to paint the risers, stringers and pickets and go natural with treads and hand rails.

slickshift

The first layer, that's brown paint
That last layer looks like wood

Workaholic

I agree this will be the easiest route.
What i really enjoy these days in new construction is the use of wrought iron spindles. Looks nice and saves me a good bit of work.

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Sean