best finish for stair treads

[Michael MacDonald]

can anyone recommend using polymerized tung oil for a stair tread finish? or is polyurethane the way to go? any other ideas?

I am refinishing the stairs in my 1890's house... well, not I... but someone is.

oh... the wood is Oak

[Aaron Wingert]

WaterLox (polymerized tung oil) would probably hold up fairly well, but will definitely amber the wood some.

Might want to look into moisture cure polyurethane, which is a bulletproof floor finish and would be more durable than conventional polyurethane. It is stinky stuff but it dries fast!

[Quinn McCarthy]

Varathane makes a polyurethane made for floors. Really tough stuff. Make sure you use a couple coats.

Quinn

[Red Dwyer]

Try this, it contains Aluminum Oxide for scratch resistance.
http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=65

[Paul Ryan]

I second the varathane products. I have used most of them and they are easy to use and produce nice results. The floor poly is real tough stuff, I have used it on stair treads but it gets really slick if wet. So I do not recommend on stairs that might get wet unless you sprinkle down some grit right after brushing or spraying on the finish.

[Joe Chritz]

Floors are the only place I believe poly actually belongs. There are a ton of polyurethane floor products out there from DIY stuff to commercial stuff that takes care to lay down.

I haven't noticed a huge difference between home center brands.

If a pro is doing your finishing they will already have a favorite system they use. If they don't I would suggest looking somewhere else for a pro.

Joe

[Lucas Barr]

Varathane makes a polyurethane made for floors. Really tough stuff. Make sure you use a couple coats.

Quinn

I used the Varathane on a set of oak stairs that I did in my previous house. Easy to work with and turned out great. I think I did 3 coats on the treads and two on the risers. Also, I can't remember what sheen I used but it wasn't high gloss and it was not slippery at all which was surprising to me.

[Jim Andrew]

Gloss finishes wear better than satin. That's because the additive they use to dull the finish actually weakens it.

[Tom Jones III]

I did my own stair rebuild and made walnut treads for it. I used minwax poly for floors. It looks fine and no problems at all but it has only been about 3 years.

[Bob Antoniewicz]

So, I am almost done with a wooden spiral staircase, and am trying to figure out what finish I should use. This thread's last reply was about 6 years ago. Has anything changed? Are there new finishes to consider? Is the water-based poly as good as the old VOC based stuff?

The stairs will be installed near a pool, and it is reasonable to assume little feet will be wet when using the stairs. Should I add grit on the treads? Are we just talking sand here, or something specific? Or are the finishes not really slippery when wet?

Many Thanks,

Bob A.
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[Tom M King]

It depends on the look you want. If it needs to stay as close as possible to the bare wood look: Bona Naturale. Otherwise, the only things I use on floors, or stairs, is Moisture Cure Urethane, or whatever the newest version of Bona Traffic is. I'd never use a regular polyurethane. If using Bona, Naturale is usually the first coat anyway. I'm sure MCU is a no-go in California.

The supplier I use for floor stuff is Horizon Forest Products. I didn't see MCU's listed on their website, but the last time I was in a store they had it. http://www.horizonforest.com/product-categories/finish/

It used to be Long Flooring Supply, and they had their own brand of MCU that I used from the '70s to the mid '90s. They still have it listed, but I'm not sure if the formulation has changed. Every floor I did back then is still in use, including the one in our house I built in 1980. It's tough stuff. http://www.horizonforest.com/flooring-products/long-kote-finish/

[Steve Schoene]

I agree with the Bona products. They are waterborne and dry much faster and with less odor than the box store polyurethane. They are also in a whole different class as far as abrasion resistance goes. As catalyzed products they can link in ways not possible with the single part finishes.

[Tom M King]

Very easy to work with too.

[Jay Runde]

Anyone know where to get Bona Traffic in quantities less than a gallon? I need to refinish our stair landing that is about 25 sq ft.

[Erik Loza]

Our stairs have carpet now but hardwood is in the future and I'm going to insist on some type of textured insert, adhesive strips, or whatever. I know how slippery our hardwood floors with poly finish are if they even get a splash of water on them.

Erik

[Bob Antoniewicz]

"It depends on the look you want. If it needs to stay as close as possible to the bare wood look: Bona Naturale. Otherwise, the only things I use on floors, or stairs, is Moisture Cure Urethane, or whatever the newest version of Bona Traffic is. I'd never use a regular polyurethane. If using Bona, Naturale is usually the first coat anyway. I'm sure MCU is a no-go in California. "



Thanks, I am hoping to keep the natural color. There is a lot of end grain, so I know that will be a problem. Is there a grain sealer I can use for that?

What about traction when wet? Is Bona alone ok, or do I need to add grit?

[Tom M King]

The Bona will finish about like anything else as far as surface smoothness. I don't know of any sealer that changes wood color any less than Naturale. It's an acid cure, waterbourne lacquer. It's low VOC, but you still need some ventilation and a respirator. On a floor, I just mop it around with their tool for that. I have put it in an old, saved activator bottle, and rubbed it on with a cloth on small things. Mix a small batch, and do some testing. Once it's mixed, there is a small bottle of activator you add to the main product, it will cure so you can't save it. When I mix small batches, I use a gram scale, and mix by weight.

The Naturale is a commercial floor finish, even used in hotel lobbies, so it's tough stuff by itself. On Oak, it almost looks like nothing is on the wood, but you can feel the finish. It does darken Pine, but not as much as any other finish.

The main disadvantage is the cost at a hundred and twenty bucks a gallon, or something like that.

I have never added grit to stairs, so I have no recommendation on that.

[Tom M King]

Anyone know where to get Bona Traffic in quantities less than a gallon? I need to refinish our stair landing that is about 25 sq ft.
I've never seen it in anything less than a gallon.

For 25 sq. ft., if you're taking it down to bare wood, moisture cure urethane is available in quarts. I did a Google search, and a bunch came up, including some on ebay. If you are living in the house though you won't want to use it. It outgasses massive quantities of probably every toxic solvent on the list-stuff like Tolulene and Xylene. If you're living in the house one of the many waterbournes would be the way to go.

[Mike Null]

Years ago I refinished our stairs with polyurethane and was very satisfied. Good tough finish.

My new floors (now 10 years old) have an aluminum oxide finish applied by the mfr. It has been excellent.

[Scott Britton]

I used Watco Danish Oil on my oak stairs when I put them in our house 25+ years ago. I intended to top coat the Watco with some type of Polyurethane but never did. That lighter color is dust on the stairs to the left and right. We raised 2 boys that constantly went up and dow these stairs. That finish held up better than I expected!
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[Jim Dwight]

Bona also has a non-slip finish. Some kind of grit or something in it. I haven't used it yet but may soon. I haven't seen anything but gallons. It isn't cheap, especially the traffic. They also have a tinted first coat finish so you can have a result something like oil based poly.