5 'Steps' to Refinishing a Staircase
The pine stair treads were one of the only original pieces of the 1950's bungalow still intact. We liked their character and so I decided to take on a project to refinish them.
BEFORE AND AFTER:
Project Origins
This project took me longer than I would care to admit, but it was transformative in our 1950's bungalow. You can see in the picture on the left that the stair risers and stringer were painted green. The treads were also trimmed with shoe molding to cover the gaps. You can't tell in the photo but the treads were in bad shape with lots of wear and also nails + screws that someone had haphazardly installed to try and reduce the squeaking.
The 6 Steps to Refinishing a Staircase
Step 1:
Remove all trim pieces. For me this meant removing the shoe molding that was on each tread and the trim pieces on the sides of the risers. This would make it a heck of a lot easier to strip and sand later on. Also, aesthetically, I decided I didn't want these pieces and planned to caulk to fill any gaps that might still exist at the end of the project.
Step 2:
Strip the old paint. Safety first - Stripping paint can have a lot of dangerous elements - the fumes from the stripper require a respirator (not just a dust mask), the stripper can leave chemical burns on your skin so you'll need something stronger than just nitrile gloves, and lastly, if your house is older than 1978 it's a good idea to test for lead paint. If you find you have lead paint I would recommend you reach out to a professional to help with refinishing to adhere to all standards for remediation.
Once you've got a handle on safety it really is just time and elbow grease. You'll want to apply your stripper in a thick coat and let it sit according to the manufacturer's instructions. Some people will also choose to put a layer of plastic wrap over top the stripper, but given the large area I was working with I did not choose to do this. One reason this project took so long was that I went through three rounds of stripper application, scraping, and reapplication. I found layers and layers of paint and varnish on my steps and so it took me awhile to get through it all.
Step 3:
Patch and Sand. Once you have gotten all the old layers of finish off your project you are ready to patch and sand. Again, I would recommend a respirator as there's no telling what kinds of chemicals and particles you're going to stir up when you start sanding. Get a good quality wood filler and patch any holes you find. I had to remove nails and screws from my stairs so I can quite a bit of patching to do. Sanding is a very time consuming (and messy) part of the process if you want to do it right. You'll want to sand with multiple grits of sandpaper to ensure a good finish. Finish up your sanding by wiping down with the tack cloth to remove all dust.
First Pass: 80 grit
Second Pass: 120 grit
Third Pass: 220 grit (or higher, depending on your wood)
Step 4:
Stain Treads. I chose to stain the old pine treads and paint the risers and stringers. The areas you are painting, vs. staining, don't need as much prep in terms of scraping and sanding. I would recommend staining and sealing first then painting, to make your life easier in terms of taping. I had to find a stain that would closely match our #prefinishedhardwood floors, and I found that Minwax's Espresso applied and wiped off quickly gave me the look I wanted. I tested this ahead of time on some scrap pine I had to get an idea. You may want to sand with 320 grit sandpaper after your first coat and then apply a second coat depending on how your wood takes the stain and if the grain comes up a lot. Mine did not so I didn't need to sand at this time.
After the stain was applied and dried I put on a coat of polyurethane. I used another Minwax product - their fast-drying water-based poly in a satin finish. After the first coat I did a light sanding by hand with 320 grit, and then applied two more coats for three total. This took a little time because I had to do every other stair so we could still get up and down.
In hindsight I would not use this sealer again. It ended up being very slippery and did not afford much protection to the soft pine treads. In my next project I plan to try a #Bona product, as their finishes are tailored for flooring applications.
Step 5:
Paint Trim. To get the look I wanted I decided to paint my risers and trim a bright semi-glass white, to match the rest of the trim in my house. Since my treads were sealed and dry it was simple to apply painters tape to protect them and make the painting job a breeze. Two coats did the trick! You could also use a white primer for the first coat, but I didn't have any at the time. Painting can be very therapeutic in my opinion!
Finished Product!
Even the cat liked it! #Samson_the_lion
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