Oak Bannister Treatment

MinMoz

Hi,

Looking for some pointers.

Have sanded my oak banister back to the original wood. Looks an ok colour naturally but now coming to the protective coat.

Anyone have any recommendations on how to treat the wood? Wax or varnish? Which product?

olias

I would advice aginst varnish, it can flake, wear, discoulour etc etc. Go for an untinted wax or an oil finish.

Olias

Hitch

Id reccomend an oil finish, very easy to maintain and repair if it gets dammaged.
Liberon finishing oil is a nice quality one.

leveller2911

Don't wax, if anyone touches the handrail with wet hands you will get water marks.You can oil it ,personally I would recommend Blackfriars traditional wood stain.Its a bit like a varnish but it doesn't build up in corners or go yellow and you don't get brush marks from it.
When we make oak staircases we generally use it because its very hardwearing on the treads.

You could also use Liberon finishing oil, thats ok too......

susieb1967

I did this to mine too! French polish it! honestly its not hard and very satisfying to see the finished result. there are lots of instructions on the web. Just involves a wad and some cloth, oil and patience. I did mine about 6yrs ago, and have 2 young kids who do not care if their hands are clean or not (or wet) and it still looks as good as new! Plus you can touch it up when you require to ( though like I said I have not needed to in 6 years!) The finish is lovely to feel and i think wax may clump after time/heat and rubbing though I may be wrong on this! Like the other poster said varnish flakes, chips and 'yellows'.
hth

nolly2009

leveller2911 wrote: »

Don't wax, if anyone touches the handrail with wet hands you will get water marks.You can oil it ,personally I would recommend Blackfriars traditional wood stain.Its a bit like a varnish but it doesn't build up in corners or go yellow and you don't get brush marks from it.
When we make oak staircases we generally use it because its very hardwearing on the treads.

You could also use Liberon finishing oil, thats ok too......

I see that Blackfriars do an exterior, quick-drying traditional wood stain in clear. I am deciding on how to protect my oak hand rail. Does this sound like the right stuff?

nolly

baby-mechanic

No idea if this is of any use, but we've got an oak door, made with wood 300 years old, and we were advised to use linseed oil on it.

Probably more as an exterior protector, but the door does look nice.

EagerLearner

Hello everyone,
I have the same question - have removed years of gloss paint from the bannister in the house we purchased a few months back. We are first time buyers so still learning alot and I don't know how to tell what wood it is but looks like pine.
Should I apply finishing oil or woodstain? Not sure what the difference is. I want it to feel smooth to the touch.
Many thanks

leveller2911

nolly2009 wrote: »

I see that Blackfriars do an exterior, quick-drying traditional wood stain in clear. I am deciding on how to protect my oak hand rail. Does this sound like the right stuff?

nolly

Just noticed your post, Yes Blackfriars Traditional woodstain(not sure if the quick drying one you mention is the same, they do a few), satin finish is excellant on staircases.We make staircases and have used Liberon finishing oil, which is fine, my only gripe is the finish can be patchy in shine where each coat of oil is taken into the grain at different rates, so areas can look more matt than others.I would also say you need to wipe the excess oil off beofre it starts to go tacky...

With Blackfriars its easy to coat, doesn't crack and build up in the corners like varnishes do.You must obviously be careful when brushing on with runs..Its very,very hardwearing and will put up with hight foot traffic, looks good too..........


We never wax staircases as wet hands leave marks.......

Just a final mention as far as I know there are No "clear" finish product on the ,market that is exterior and also UV protected so any exterior joinery the colour will fade unless treated more regularly than the usual paint cycle...I'm happy to be corrected on this as Ive contacted all of my paint suppliers who all say the same......

leveller2911

EagerLearner wrote: »

Hello everyone,
I have the same question - have removed years of gloss paint from the bannister in the house we purchased a few months back. We are first time buyers so still learning alot and I don't know how to tell what wood it is but looks like pine.
Should I apply finishing oil or woodstain? Not sure what the difference is. I want it to feel smooth to the touch.
Many thanks

You can use either, the main thing to remember is that you must de-grease with something like sugar soap and allow to dry thoroughly before applying oil or woodstains.....

If you have balusters/spindles, turned newel posts etc it would be easier for you to oil them as you can litterally brush it on, wipe off excess before it goes tacky and leave to dry.If your happy with the colour that is, if they were previously painted it may not look great so try doing a small sample with Liberon finishing oil....

If your confident with a brush (not too many runs) I would still go for Blackfriars traditional woodstain (which is clear ), it will take longer but will last longer and as pine is soft 2-3 coats will give you a decent hardwearing surface.........

Good luck ......:D


PS: Blackfriars Traditional Woodstain is NOT a Polyeurethane Varnish, its a Microporus wood finish so it doesn't crack....

EagerLearner

Hi Leveller thank you - we continued stripping it yesterday and the newel post and small handrail on left as you look upstairs even after much sanding, is def a different wood, darker. The handrail on the right is pine almost 100%.
We bought some Ronseal finishing oil in antique oak in the hopes that if we apply one coat on left and two on the bannister it might look ok...!
As back up we have from a previous project some oak varnish in a satin finish to apply last which we might use on both sides if needed.
Any thoughts if these ideas make sense?