[Mike in Arkansas]

Got the old carpet off the stairway this morning. Hundreds of staples removed as well as the tackless strips. House was built in 1925. The treads are yellow pine as well as the floors in the house. "Old growth edge cut" is what the refinisher called them that we hired to refinish the downstairs floors. Some of the floor boards are over 15 feet long and run the complete length of the rooms. Anyway, back to the stairs. I planned to orbital sand with my little 5 inch Bosch and get the corners with my Fein multimaster. Not sure what the finish is. It comes off pretty quickly, but the stain is evidently deep enough into the wood that it looks like it's going to take me at least a couple of hours on each tread starting with 50 grit paper. 50 grit is the courcest I could find at the local Borgs. Patience is not a virtue of mine. I've no experience using a commercial edge sander for floors but is that the tool I need to get to do the sanding in a faster time? Which grit would I start with? Others/better options available? (besides hiring a pro):laughing: I'm going to strip and sand the shirt boards as well.


Would have liked to have just been able to remove the treads and send them through a planer. But the treads and risers don't just butt against the shirt boards but are recessed into cutouts. Shims underneath hold the treads/risers tight against the cutouts in the shirt board. Also, several nails from the back of each riser into the back edge of the tread in front of it. I did remove enough plaster/lathe material in an out of the way place to find out about the construction method for the stairs, but, I would have to demolish too much to get to the underside of all the stairs. Maybe someone has a way to go about removing the treads without access to the bottom? If so, I'd like to hear it. Like I mention above I have a Fein multimaster which is a pretty handy tool for things like that. Just don't see ay way to go about it without cutting things all to pieces.

One more question. I want a lighter stain color on the treads. I'm assuming I must sand all the old stain out but is that true? Maybe some kind of stain or dye that could be used to 'cover up the darker stain after the top layers are removed? Wild hope there:whistling2:
Thanks

 

[Ron6519]

The only way to remove the treads and risers intact is from below with the stairs you have.
An alternative to sanding would be to bleach the treads and risers. It's a tricky task that requires a little practice on scrap wood before you take on the stairs. The finish needs to be removed before you can use the bleach.
Ron

 

[Mike in Arkansas]

The only way to remove the treads and risers intact is from below with the stairs you have.
An alternative to sanding would be to bleach the treads and risers. It's a tricky task that requires a little practice on scrap wood before you take on the stairs. The finish needs to be removed before you can use the bleach.
Ron

Thanks Ron, bleaching isn't something I had considered. So the bleach removes the stain color and new lighter stain can be applied? Does the wood need to be washed or something before reapplying new stain? Interesting idea, Thanks.

 

[Ron6519]

I've never done the process so I can't give you the details. You might try asking the question on the woodworking forum here or the Woodnet forum. The Woodnet forum has quite a few knowlegeable refinishers.
The big box stores sell this product so you can go there and read the box or just do a search about it.
Ron