Staining stairs with wood & mdf steost

Frenchbebe

Hi, I ripped up the classy 1980s carpet off my stairs, with the intention of staining the wood to match the teak banister. However, 3 of the steps are mdf (they are irregular / triangular shaped) and the normal shaped ones are wood, prob red deal or something. Is there any product that would allow me to stain them so they all look the same? From my googling, I'm guessing I can't do this. So I might just have to paint them all. Any advice greatly appreciated as I'm presently left with some v crappy looking stairs 😯

johnny osbourne

have u got a picture of the stairs?

Frenchbebe

johnny osbourne wrote:

have u got a picture of the stairs?

I can't attach a pic from my phone , app doesn't seem to allow it. Basically all wood except these three steps topped with mdf. Sorry, not much help!

jack of all

I did something similar with our own stairs a few months ago, same set up as yours OP- hardwood handrail, newel posts, spindles and stringers but MDF treads and risers, from top to bottom. The hall is dark anyway so I decided to paint the lot- (oil-based) primer, undercoat and satinwood on the hardwood and a water-based floor paint on the steps. I can't remember which product I used but I applied up to 4 coats on the treads (3 on risers) and it dried very quickly allowing me to get 2 coats on per day. Stairs could be used after a few hours (with good drying conditions) in stockinged feet and after a good week or so it was fine for regular use. I used a good mini roller and a quality synthetic brush for cutting in. It's done about 4 months at this stage and seems to be standing up well to wear so far and it's much easier to clean than carpet, although noise is a problem with 3 young children tramping up and down it at times!

Frenchbebe

That looks gorgeous. I'm expecting a third and was worried about the wear a bright colour would take. But you'be convinced me! Now I just need the time 😊

Frenchbebe

jack of all wrote:

I did something similar with our own stairs a few months ago, same set up as yours OP- hardwood handrail, newel posts, spindles and stringers but MDF treads and risers, from top to bottom. The hall is dark anyway so I decided to paint the lot- (oil-based) primer, undercoat and satinwood on the hardwood and a water-based floor paint on the steps. I can't remember which product I used but I applied up to 4 coats on the treads (3 on risers) and it dried very quickly allowing me to get 2 coats on per day. Stairs could be used after a few hours (with good drying conditions) in stockinged feet and after a good week or so it was fine for regular use. I used a good mini roller and a quality synthetic brush for cutting in. It's done about 4 months at this stage and seems to be standing up well to wear so far and it's much easier to clean than carpet, although noise is a problem with 3 young children tramping up and down it at times!

Did you use a brush when doing the spindles? Just curious as to the most efficient way to do up to four coats of paint on such fiddly things. Thanks.

jack of all

Frenchbebe wrote: »

Did you use a brush when doing the spindles? Just curious as to the most efficient way to do up to four coats of paint on such fiddly things. Thanks.

Yes, I used brushes for all the oil-based paintwork on the hardwood. I bought 3 good quality synthetics (they weren't expensive), a 2", 1.5" and a "radiator brush" with a cranked head for the awkward areas. Bad news is it took a lot more than 4 coats- 1 primer, 2 undercoats on flat areas with up to 3 light coats on spindles to avoid drips and runs, followed by a minimum of 2 coats of satinwood. I gave the hand rail, newel posts and some of the spindles (near top and bottom of landings) an extra coat of satinwood. Even at that some of the paintwork on spindles looks a little thin in places (to my perfectionist eyes anyway). It was a lot of work and difficult to work around kids but well worth it when the job was done.

dodzy

Looks great jack, but seriously, how did you manage all them coats with the little 'uns. Bloody amazing.

jack of all

dodzy wrote: »

Looks great jack, but seriously, how did you manage all them coats with the little 'uns. Bloody amazing.

Ha! Thanks for the feedback. When the job was done (and many times during the process) I told my missus: "this is a one-off, lifetime job- I am never doing this again!". To be fair the children stayed out of my way for the most part, but in an ideal world it's the kind of job you'd be better off doing in an empty house with nothing but the radio for company.