Stair Tread - Staining

tipper1

Have searched through boards put didn't find the answer so here I go.

I have a 6/7 year old stairs which has always had just a clear varnished finish.
I have sanded down the whole thing and have painted everything white except for the hand rail and steps.
The hand rail is teak but the main problem is my stair tread is white deal, or similar, which I am looking the stain up to a dark oak/walnut colour.
I thought it would be relatively easy to just put a couple of coats of dark stained varnish on the steps and finish off with a floor lacquer but in my research it recommends conditioning the wood before staining to prevent against raising the grain and blotchy colour differences on the stain especially on softwoods. I have never heard of this before.
I have tried to source this prestain wood conditioner but have had no look. Is it necessary ? Have I other options ? Or are there other recommendations ?

Advice would be much appreciated as it has turned into some job but would like to finish it well after all the hard work.

tipper1

Any help out there???

woodturner

If you have any spare pieces try moistening it lightly before applying the stain, it will ensure it spreads evenly and shouldn't be blotchy.

tipper1

What would I moisten it with ?
It's water based stained varnish I'm using.
I have been told by various people to try White spirits, coat of clear matt or satin varnish, n/c sanding sealer.
Seems like i need to seal the wood against various parts of the wood taking in different amounts of moisture, causing the stain to be of different colours.
Really confused here but maybe the clear varnish or sanding sealer is the way to go.

Trebor59

The issue with staining the wood is getting the right colour when you are finished. If you get wood grain lifting, you can sand it again and apply another coat, that should sort it out. However it may become too dark with multiple coats. You could switch to a clear varnish if you are happy with the colour.

If you haven't stained bare wood before, take care to apply the stain in even amounts and only apply in the direction of the grain...difficult to achieve a perfect job in a multiple plane environment like a staircase. Rob