Finishing an oak stairs? Laquer? Vanish? Oil?

893bet

I am trying to decide on how to finish my white oak stairs. I have been advised everything from oils to laquers to varnish and combinations of the aforementioned.

Any advice? I want a matt/satin finish and to keep the colour as close as possible to the White oak color.

tabby aspreme

Oil or oil based varnish will darker the timber the most, Cellulose or water based lacquer/ varnish will keep the colour nearer to what it is currently. Try the different finishes on some off cuts first, it's looking good well done.

893bet

tabby aspreme wrote: »

Oil or oil based varnish will darker the timber the most, Cellulose or water based lacquer/ varnish will keep the colour nearer to what it is currently. Try the different finishes on some off cuts first, it's looking good well done.

That's a good idea. Will get some off cuts and just buy a few small tins.

Water based it is. Will that be as hard wearing as a oil based finish?

BryanF

Water based stuff needs a lot of coats. think about the hand rail and steps over time. Water based will need to be done more regularly, but as per above , it holds its natural colour better with the water products.

893bet

BryanF wrote: »

Water based stuff needs a lot of coats. think about the hand rail and steps over time. Water based will need to be done more regularly, but as per above , it holds its natural colour better with the water products.

Ok thanks. I was thinking 5 coats wth sandings in between.

dmc17

893bet wrote: »

That's a good idea. Will get some off cuts and just buy a few small tins.

Water based it is. Will that be as hard wearing as a oil based finish?

Give this stuff a trial. Water based and hard wearing

tabby aspreme

The water based varnish is not as hard wearing as the oil based, but should be fine on a domestic stairs, before the final two sandings pre assembly rub the wood with a damp cloth to raise the grain , this will reduce the amount of sanding when varnishing .