Banister Varnish / Stain?

Hi,

Following a loft conversion I have some new stairs - the banister wood is n= othing special (light coloured / pine) but I think I'd like to keep the woo= d effect by varnishing rather than painting over.

I've started by filling gaps with wood filler, next I'll sand down but from= there I don't know whether it would be ok to varnish right away or if it's= advisable to stain/oil or whatever first. I think the light pine colour is= fine as it is, as is the contrast level of the grain, so my instinct is no= t to stain. But then I've only ever painted woodwork before now so I'm not = sure if there are pitfalls to avoid here.

All advice welcome.

Cheers,

Colin.

Reply to
Colin Green
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If you don't mind it darkening a bit, then just give it a few (i.e. at least three) coats of a decent polyurethane clear varnish. If you want to keep it very light, then a coat of either blond de-waxed shellac or water based clear quick drying varnish as a sealer coat first.

Reply to
John Rumm

My main stairs have mahogany - or rather I think it is - a dark red wood. The attic ones were added afterwards and are a much lighter wood which was painted. I didn't like this as you can see them both from some angles. I removed the paint and experimented with different stains and a coat of varnish which alters the colour of the stain. After about 6 attempts I got a match I'm happy with. Used Wicks Professional Exterior clear varnish, which I found worked best thinned about 50:50 and applied 6 coats with a rub down with very fine wet or dry used wet between coats. It looks good and has proved durable.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Just finished building a staircase. It has been stained in medium oak using Liberon stain and the treated with Danish oil for a finish. Much better than varnish IMO.

I built the staircase, my wife stained and oiled it. She has done an exceptional job.

Reply to
Steve Firth

Thanks everyone for the advice, much appreciated. Me thinks it would be wise to experiment on some spare spindles I have with the options posted.

Will endeavour to post back my final choice.

Colin

Reply to
Colin Green

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