Help with Refurbishing Staircase

eljacko

Good afternoon all. 

I have sanded the treads with 40/80 and 120 grit. You can see in the pic where the carpet ran and either side of that had gloss paint. I wanted to stain the treads a much darker colour but I’m not sure whether the wood will stain evenly. I’m not even sure what wood the tread is made of. Any help would be much appreciated. 

Kind regards 
jacko 

grumbler

Looks like pine to me.

IMO, it's very hard to get a good result with staining, especially if it's not nice new piece of wood.

For a good result consider using stair cladding - laminate or wood.

Jeepers_Creepers

There's staining and there's staining. 

'Staining' used to mean colouring the timber with a dye, and then this would normally be over-coated with a protective finish such as a clear varnish. The term 'stain' now seems to apply to coloured-varnish - ie a coloured semi-translucent protective coat you apply in one, tho' usually requiring a few coats for full protection.

There are pros and cons to both. 'Dye' tends to highlight woodgrain, so you usually end up with a more dramatic wood appearance. Coloured-varnish-type staining ("Woodsheen"/"Woodstain") does the opposite - it tends to cover the grain, and the more coats you apply the more even the finished result, with less variation in grain colour. It does depend, tho', on the shade used - the darker the more obliterated. 

I would imagine that a dye-type staining would have variable results on your steps since it's unlikely to absorb/take-up the dye evenly due to the effects of the old painted bits. So, in your case - and especially since you want a dark shade anyway - I think I'd suggest going for a Woodstain or Woodsheen product that is effectively a coloured varnish. 

What shade of wood were you thinking off?

I've just redecorated the room I'm in now (the old attached garage - now a general music/play/computer room) and used a product actually designed for outside use - Dulux Trade Ultimate Woodstain in Ebony - and even did my wood floors with it (tho' not on the list of recommendations) as well as steps. I have to say it's gorgeous stuff. I did apply 4 coats in total as I wanted it near-black, and the grain colour only shows when sunlight hits it, but the finish is lovely. 

It's proving to be durable, but as I say not recommended for floors. If your stairs are going to have traffic with shoes on, then best go for a product designed for this - you can get coloured varnishes designed for floors. 

What shade are you hoping for? 

eljacko

Thanks JC that’s really helpful. I was thinking of a dark reddish brown similar to my living room floor 

Jeepers_Creepers

Nice :-) That looks mahoganyish? 

In that case I think I'd go for a purpose-made FLOOR satin varnish with built-in colour. Ronseal make 'Diamond Hard Coloured Floor Varnish' in a satin finish, and 'Rich Mahog' is one of their shades. I can't say anymore than that about it. 

Worth checking other makes too - Rustins and Dulux, for example, tho' I bet they'll end up effectively the same.

I'd certainly suggest a coloured-varnish over a dye, tho', as the latter would highlight that it's a pine grain and this can look a bit 'contrasty' and strange - what is clearly a hardwood-coloured softwood. If you look at your current living room floor, you can tell it's a dense-grained hardwood; it has a close-lined grain that lacks the knots and feathery grain of pine. So I suggest you'd be looking to hide the pine grain to a fair extent, and just leave it all looking like real wood, but more 'even' like the other floor. 

Colouring timber is a 'mare, tho', as I've found to my repeated cost - rarely have I ended up with what I'd hoped for, but at the end of the day it has always look fine :-)

If/when you go for this, apply it in thin even coats and add more to get the shade you are happy with. Don't panic at any stage - it might start off looking patchy, but this will even out with further coats. Also bear in mind it's an overall effect when you look at your stairs, so don't fixate on a single tread or area. Look again at your living room floor - it ain't as even as you might think, but it's that variation wot gives it its lovely quality. 

And - of course - come back when it's done, pleeeeeez :-)

eljacko

JC you’re a gent. I will crack on with your suggestions and of course post you the results 👍🏻

Jeepers_Creepers

Cool.

But don't come crying to me if... :-)