Whast to put on stairs - beewax or varnish

purerandom

hi, i have a new build with 2 staircases that require staining varnishing.
the steps will be carpeted but i would like to know what product should I be putting on the stairs. I have heard mention of a varnish and of beewax.
Can someone give me advice from experience?

game4it70

If your talking about the banisters and hand-rail i would recommend using water-based varnish.
Apply first coat and when dry use 100 grade sandpaper to rub it down.
If you want to darken it use a water-based stain and varnish then.
If you apply stain on raw timber and you not quick enough it will dry to quickly and become patchy.
I normally go one coat clear,sand and dust off well.stain (one or two coats depending on how deep you want colour) and sand again.then a final coat of clear.If you go clear/stain/stain there would be not need for a final coat of clear once the atain is a combined stain and varnish.

I find satin finish varnish is better as it looks more natural.

Hope this helps and is not to confusing.

purerandom

thanks for the info.

so, what brand of varnish do you recommend? is it expensive?

S.L.F

If you are looking to keep the colour all the same if you plan to stain something you should use a meth based stain then when the stain is dry use an oil based varnish.

Oil based varnish gives a deeper colour to wood and in my opinion looks far better

game4it70

S.L.F wrote: »

If you are looking to keep the colour all the same if you plan to stain something you should use a meth based stain then when the stain is dry use an oil based varnish.

Oil based varnish gives a deeper colour to wood and in my opinion looks far better

The problem with oil based varnish is that the clear varnish will yellow the timber plus your more likely to see the brush strokes.Imo water based is much easier to apply.


OP,I actually use all the brands of it and find no difference in them but i tend to go with a water-based floor varnish as its harder wearing.Cost would be about 25euro a litre or 40euro for a 2.5l litre.Depending on the size of each staircase 2.5 would be plenty to do both.You would need less of the clear if using a combination of clear and stain.
When getting the 100 grade sandpaper get yourself a sanding sponge also as thee very handy for staircases.

S.L.F

game4it70 wrote: »

The problem with oil based varnish is that the clear varnish will yellow the timber plus your more likely to see the brush strokes.Imo water based is much easier to apply.

Water based is far easier to apply there is no doubt about that, I have used it many's a time but I just perfer to use oil based for something important like a stairs.

Regarding yellowing of the timber it would depend on what type of wood has been used.

Regarding brush strokes they can be minimumised if a finishing rag is used instead of a brush.

There is 1 other choice for the coating of your stairs, you could use Danish oil, it is even easier to put on than water based varnish.

game4it70 wrote: »

When getting the 100 grade sandpaper get yourself a sanding sponge also as thee very handy for staircases.

I've found those sponges very handy in the past but perfer to use wirewool for the balustrads.

If you decide to use wool just make sure you clean very carefully before you put on any coats of varnish.