Oak stair finishing question?

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Hi All, I haven't posted much here because I'm spending all my time working on my oak stair project. I have it all installed and wanted advise on staining oak. I'm trying to match an existing dark stained oak floor.

Any suggestions on how to proceed with oak, sealing, etc before staining? I've never stained oak before and wondered if any special procedures apply for it. Thanks Alan
Pics to follow soon.

[Todd Burch]

The best finish, in my certainly humble opinion..., is to fill the pores first, then stain. Filling the pores with a paste wood filler will do two things. First, pigment stain, which you are probably using, won't congregate in the filled pores and cause a high degree of contrast between the the early wood (where most of the larger pores are) and late wood (where the large pores aren't). Second, when you go to top coat the treads/risers, you will get a more even sheen, as the finish won't be following the contour of the outline of the pores. A smooth finish means dirt won't collect as much too.

Oak is an easy wood to stain. I typically don't use Minwax stains, but have been highly successful in getting the right dark look I wanted on oak using Minwax stains mixed together in old butter tubs. Red Oak, Dark Walnut, Colonial Maple, Pennsylvania Cherry and Jacobean are my friends in this regard. Let stain dry overnight. A fan on the stair case would not be a bad thing.

For topcoating, I use Pratt & Lambert's VARMOUR urethane, made for floors. Use gloss on the first 2 coats and the sheen of your choice on the third. I brush it on with a foam brush, making sure I flood the surface, push it around only as much as needed, then tip it off once and move to the next tread. Sand between coats with 220 open coat (stearated) paper. One example is 3M's "FRE-CUT" paper. When the first coat dries (overnight) I don't sand too close to the round overs for fear of sanding through the finish and stain to the bare wood. I get the round overs on the second coat. You are really just getting the dust nibs and wood fuzz on the first sanding. If you get more than white sanding dust on your paper, you're sanding too much. Look for holidays (little crater-shaped areas you might have missed) with good lighting on your staircase as you go.

If the first coat is still a little tacky the next morning, skip the sanding and go ahead and put on the second coat. The second coat will dry faster.

Alan - pictures..... :)

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Thanks for that very thorough description of the process. I'll get some pics when I finish. I do want to use a filler but what color do you use for a dark finish? I've heard you're better to err on the dark side with the filler compared with the final finish. I appreciate your help as I want this to turn out really nice. Alan

[Todd Burch]

Alan, if it were mine, I would choose a color filler that is close to the desired color. The filler will still grab some pigment, so consider that if you want a lighter finish. If the filler you have is not the right color, consider that you can most likely tint the filler.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

I'll have to wait until after the 4th (family stuff) then I'll post some shots of the finished stairs. Have a great holiday. Alan in Md.