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Thread: stair tread finishing

  1. #1

    stair tread finishing

    Hello all,

    My stair treads finally arrived and I am pretty excited to get started. I purchased bare white oak. It looks pretty nice. I want to finish them first before cutting and installing.
    This is what I am thinking of doing.

    1) apply wood filler, there are few imperfections
    2) sand the treads with 120,180,220 grit papers. This will close the pores a more and take in less stain right?
    3) apply conditioner to get more even look
    4) apply oil based stain. I might do more than one coat depending how dark we want it
    5) apply 2-3 coats of satin polyurethane. lightly sand between coats

    I saw a lot of different finish Tung oil, danish oil, linseed oil, lacquer, polyurethane, shellack, etc. It is really hard for a newbie to grasp all the difference. But it seems for high traffic areas, such as stairs, polyurethane is preferred because we get a clear layer sitting on top of the wood.

    I also have some flooring and will do the same treatment to them. I use flooring on large winder steps.

    Please let me know if I have missed anything.
    Thanks much

  2. #2
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    I would use a floor finish, rather than a polyurethane. Some call polyurethane a floor finish, but I'm talking about professional floor finishes. I'd never use regular poly on a floor.

  3. #3
    I'd scrap the 220, likely the 180, and stop at 150. I'd scrap the conditioner and perhaps just raise the grain before the final sanding with a wet rag. And as Tom said I'd scrap the poly and opt for something like Bona Traffic HD. Itd be way faster and way more durable.

  4. #4
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    As said, you don't need or want conditioner on oak. Oak doesn't blotch as long as your sanding is uniform. And I'd stop at 150 grit, as mentioned earlier. That plus no conditioner should allow you to get the color you want in one coat. Multiple coats often lead to topcoat adhesion problems. If you can't get the darkness you want in one application of stain, pick a different stain. FWIW, I would look at Bona's stains and topcoats and stay all with one product line.

    John

  5. #5
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    I agree with going with a specialized floor finish. The Bona Traffic is about the best there is, Yes pricy, but worth it. By the way it is waterborne albeit catalysed. It will dry much faster, and with less odor than oil based polyurethane. In addition, specified floor finishes are also made to have traction under foot for safety.

  6. #6
    Thanks all for your suggestions. I will try to procure Bona Traffic. I hope it's easy to apply. How many coats are needed? how many sqft can we cover per quart?

    Regarding using the conditioner, I am trying to minimize the contrast between the dark and light wood. That is to make it visually resemble the laminate planks we have. Is there a better way to accomplish this?

  7. #7
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    You won't regret the Bona Traffic, the HD is pretty much bulletproof. It's what's on my shop floor and it absorbs untold abuse. You will want three coats. You will discover that there is a reason the flooring guys call the third coat the "money coat". As far as I know it only comes in gallons. You'll need to go to a floor finishing supply shop (or perhaps online) to get it. Not sold at the Borg or regular paint and hardware stores.

    On a floor you use a wide special applicator, you pour out a line of finish and then use a snowplow like motion to spread it-- the coat is relatively thick. There are many youtube videos that show the technique. On stair treads I'd probably use the widest foam brush I could find and apply it significantly thicker than you would a regular poly. The instructions will give you more exact coverage information, I don't remember the exact number, something like 350 sf/gallon.

    I like the look of the Bona Amber Seal underneath, it will help even out tone differences and provide a more oil-like appearance. The Traffic/HD by itself is clear and white, no color added to the wood.

    The only tricky bit is with mixing up smaller batches, it is a catalyzed urethane, so you need to measure carefully to get the right ratio of the two parts if you're not mixing up the whole gallon.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by joe webb View Post
    Thanks all for your suggestions. I will try to procure Bona Traffic. I hope it's easy to apply. How many coats are needed? how many sqft can we cover per quart?

    Regarding using the conditioner, I am trying to minimize the contrast between the dark and light wood. That is to make it visually resemble the laminate planks we have. Is there a better way to accomplish this?
    To minimize the contrast between the porous and non-porous areas you could fill the grain with a neutral grain filler, then apply your stain over that. If you are using a WB stain/topcoat package like Bona then you will want to use a WB grain filler, too. I had very good results with Crystallac on some white ash that I needed to fill for exactly this reason. There are likely other options, including the use of stain pre-conditioner as you proposed; this is the route I took.

    John

  9. #9
    +1 for Bona Traffic.

    2 coats. I do not abrade between coats. I have only found the product in gallons. Traffic HD is a 2 part system, so you'll only want to mix up what you need, lest you waste the whole gallon on some treads. Regular traffic is a one part product.

    I would consider watching some youtube videos on application, it can be a little tricky to apply.

    I would not sand past 150, no reason.

    Bona also makes a conditioning product. I have always used the conditioner, so I don't know what effect just the finish has.

    My advice comes from putting in hardwood floors in my house. I do not do this professionally.

  10. #10
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    I don't know if they still sell both Bona Traffic, and Bona Traffic HD, but it's the HD that you want. The activiator is in a small bottle for the gallon, but with careful measuring, you can mix what you need, and the rest will last for years.

    You just flood it on.

  11. #11
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    The white oak stairs in my new house are about as uniform as any wood I have ever used. It would have been a waste of time and money to apply any sort of conditioner to them. All it would have done is reduce the effectiveness of the stain.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by roger wiegand View Post
    On a floor you use a wide special applicator, you pour out a line of finish and then use a snowplow like motion to spread it-- the coat is relatively thick. There are many youtube videos that show the technique. On stair treads I'd probably use the widest foam brush I could find and apply it significantly thicker than you would a regular poly. The instructions will give you more exact coverage information, I don't remember the exact number, something like 350 sf/gallon.
    Thanks Roger. Is 350sf for one coat? I called 2 stores near by and they don't carry it. Probably need to get it online, thus I want to make sure I order the right quantity.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Art Mann View Post
    The white oak stairs in my new house are about as uniform as any wood I have ever used. It would have been a waste of time and money to apply any sort of conditioner to them. All it would have done is reduce the effectiveness of the stain.
    By uniform, I don't mean from one plank to another. But the dark grain pattern (those "rings") stands out too much. On my laminate, there is the same pattern, but not as visible. But I agree with you that oak usually doesn't blotch thus don't need conditioner. This is purely for cosmetic reasons.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by joe webb View Post
    Thanks Roger. Is 350sf for one coat? I called 2 stores near by and they don't carry it. Probably need to get it online, thus I want to make sure I order the right quantity.
    Unless you have enormous stairs one gallon will easily give you three coats, with finish left over--most stairs would only be 30-50 sf. The first coat takes more, subsequent coats a little less. The problem, as noted above is that it is a catalyzed finish that can't be reactivated. If you make up a quart and only use half of it you need to throw the rest away.

  15. #15
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    If I'm mixing small quantities, I have a cheap digital scale, and measure it by weight.

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