Oak bannister finish

patg

Hi all

I have had an oak bannister put in our house and its a great job. I took advice from the firm that put it in and bought Satin Clear Varnish to finish.

I have put two coats on and sanded beforehand both times, and the bannister is coming up nice and smooth however...

the wood is darkening up slightly and more dissappointing, is also getting a real shine which is not the effect we were anticipating.

We just wanted a natural looking finish - should I have gone for a matt finish? or even some other non-varnish type of polish/lacquer?

Also if I gave it a further light sand and applied a different treatment do you think this may bring it back down a bit?

Looking forward to any wisdon you may be able to bestow...

ennisa

Pat, to bring down a finish that is too shiny you can use either steel wool ( 000 grade or 0000 grade, called 'three ought' and 'four ought' the more 0's the more fine the steel wool is) or you can get synthetic grey pads for the orbital and hand sanders and use them by hand. Obvioulsy you can use sandpaper too but the wool and pads can be easier with the curves and hollows.
Wood will darken a little no matter what finish you put on it and it will also darken with time. You could ask the person that supplied you with the stairs to give you some offcuts of the same oak and before you finish the stairs try out some different finishes on the offcuts and see which is the one you like. Remeber to let each coat to dry fully to the details on the back of the can otherwise it can bubble and peel etc... and you won't get a good representation of the finished article.

Be carefull about applying different finishes on top of each other. If you mix the wrong types then they may not bond properly and the finish will peel or generally be unpleasant.

I would try sanding the last coat back with the fine grade of steel wool and see what you think before risking a different finish on top of what you have.

There are other finishes out there. Any of the oil finishes( danish oil, boiled linseed oil etc...) will generally darken the wood. This is a finish i like but if you want to keep the colour as close to what you have then don't go for those.
Lacquer is harder to apply, so i hear, as it dries very quickly and I have never had occasion to use it so can't advise much.

Remember too that you can thin down the varninsh and wipe it on, this will reduce brush marks etc.. and dry quicker but you will need more coats as they will be thinner. I would start with 70/30 varnish/thinner ( check the tin to see what thinner to use )

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055511889

This post is very similar to your question and some answers from people that have actually finished wooden stairs

Hope this helps.

patg

Hi EnnisA

Thanks for your reply.

Your comments make good sense. I can see how the wool wiwll be more effective (and easier?!) than sandpaper. Also I think the idea of wiping on a thin downed final coat will be good. Thats all for next Saturday though.

Thanks for the advice.

S.L.F

If you use a water based varnish this won't darken your stairs as much as oil based varnish.