Coating for stairs

[JHZR2]

Hi,

Our back stairs that lead to our kitchen had very small/short treads. They were actually slightly dangerous in my view...

We "re treaded" the stairs (guess that is the right term), with Oak, which is what was used on our main stairway.

We believe that the golden oak minwax color is an accurate match for the stairs to look like the other stairway in our home.

The question is, what is the right coating?

Im partial to shellac. Its what I used when I reconstructed the period-authentic tongue and groove porch ceiling. Looks good.

Not sure if back in the early 1930's, folks used shellac, and also what the pros and cons are to one coating or another.

Of course being stairs, dont want it to be too slippery. Our main stairs are OK with this, whatever is coated on them.

So what would you recommend?

Also any specific prep for oak? usually before I stain, I do the following:

1) sand with very fine grit paper
2) vacuum/brush/tack cloth of all dust
3) rub surfaces with mineral spirits on towel
4) brush pre-stain prep (Minwax product made for oil stains)
5) apply stain per instructions

Should I be doing anything else?

Thanks!

 

[dave123]

Bona Traffic HD

 

[bepperb]

I only sand oak to 180 especially on flooring any more is a waste of time (on an open grained wood). Also, vacuum the dust as the open pores will probably fill up, that's more important than tack cloth or spirits. IMO pre-stain is for Pine, Cherry and other blotchy woods. You don't need it for oak. So take the time you save there, magically convert it into money, and use that for a better topcoat...

Shellac won't hold up to any traffic really, and mass-market poly might look to plastiky for your tastes. If it were mine I would buy two or three finishes and try them on some scraps but you might also do well to ask a Sherwin Williams or other store that specializes in this sort of thing.

 

[JHZR2]

Thanks! What do you recommend for coatings or brands of stains?

 

[JOD]

Originally Posted By: bepperb

Shellac won't hold up to any traffic really


Good advice here...

6 coats of shellac and in 8 years they look terrible. A 100 lb Ridgeback (and his buddies) treating the stairs as his own personal indoor track didn't help, but I just don't think shellac is suitable for stair treads. They looked great for about 6 months, though.

This would be my recommendation: http://www.glitsa.com/documents/Brochure_GlitsaMax.pdf

It doesn't have the plasticky look and it wears like iron. I'm guessing they have distribution out your way.

 

[bepperb]

One option would be to make sure the Shellac you're using anywhere else is dewaxed (it will say on the can), then you can stain, use one or two coats of that, and then either topcoat.

If it's not dewaxed (or you don't know) a topcoat of anything won't stick. Or, maybe it's easier just to stain the oak to match and then topcoat without shellac. If that's the case buy two or three different cans of stain all close to what you want (better than burning time and gas driving all over the world), test on scraps if possible, and then get to work. I like Varathane and Cabot more than Minwax. When you see stain on "oak" at the store you never know if it's red or white oak and it never looks the same at home. And you can custom blend a coat of one, then a coat of another to get a good match. On stairs I would use a darker finish if you're not trying to match anything, it will look better longer and hide the "dirt trail" that happens in the middle vs the never touched area at the edges.

Give it over a day to dry and then one of the topcoats above or ask a decent paint store. Lots of good floor finishes, the important thing is to get a floor finish as a furniture finish just won't hold up (and shellac, no way, not for a month).

 

[bigmike]

Waterlox is all I'd use for flooring, but I'm not sure that will match what you're looking for. You can stain prior to waterlox though. I used 5 coats on my dining table. One day I'll have to post a picture of it so I can get some oohs and ahhs.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: bigmike
Waterlox is all I'd use for flooring, but I'm not sure that will match what you're looking for. You can stain prior to waterlox though. I used 5 coats on my dining table. One day I'll have to post a picture of it so I can get some oohs and ahhs.


Please do!

Im trying to match color to our front stairs, which is a golden oak color, though finish itself Id say does not really matter per se.

i dont want sand or grit in the finish though - think it will look dirty. Dont really want a runner either.

Our front stairs, no idea what is on them, look great and veve never had an issue with them being slippery...