can anyone recommend using polymerized tung oil for a stair tread finish? or is polyurethane the way to go? any other ideas?
I am refinishing the stairs in my 1890's house... well, not I... but someone is.
oh... the wood is Oak
can anyone recommend using polymerized tung oil for a stair tread finish? or is polyurethane the way to go? any other ideas?
I am refinishing the stairs in my 1890's house... well, not I... but someone is.
oh... the wood is Oak
WaterLox (polymerized tung oil) would probably hold up fairly well, but will definitely amber the wood some.
Might want to look into moisture cure polyurethane, which is a bulletproof floor finish and would be more durable than conventional polyurethane. It is stinky stuff but it dries fast!
Varathane makes a polyurethane made for floors. Really tough stuff. Make sure you use a couple coats.
Quinn
Try this, it contains Aluminum Oxide for scratch resistance.
http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=65
I second the varathane products. I have used most of them and they are easy to use and produce nice results. The floor poly is real tough stuff, I have used it on stair treads but it gets really slick if wet. So I do not recommend on stairs that might get wet unless you sprinkle down some grit right after brushing or spraying on the finish.
Floors are the only place I believe poly actually belongs. There are a ton of polyurethane floor products out there from DIY stuff to commercial stuff that takes care to lay down.
I haven't noticed a huge difference between home center brands.
If a pro is doing your finishing they will already have a favorite system they use. If they don't I would suggest looking somewhere else for a pro.
Joe
JC Custom WoodWorks
For best results, try not to do anything stupid.
"So this is how liberty dies...with thunderous applause." - Padmé Amidala "Star Wars III: The Revenge of the Sith"
I used the Varathane on a set of oak stairs that I did in my previous house. Easy to work with and turned out great. I think I did 3 coats on the treads and two on the risers. Also, I can't remember what sheen I used but it wasn't high gloss and it was not slippery at all which was surprising to me.
Gloss finishes wear better than satin. That's because the additive they use to dull the finish actually weakens it.
I did my own stair rebuild and made walnut treads for it. I used minwax poly for floors. It looks fine and no problems at all but it has only been about 3 years.
So, I am almost done with a wooden spiral staircase, and am trying to figure out what finish I should use. This thread's last reply was about 6 years ago. Has anything changed? Are there new finishes to consider? Is the water-based poly as good as the old VOC based stuff?
The stairs will be installed near a pool, and it is reasonable to assume little feet will be wet when using the stairs. Should I add grit on the treads? Are we just talking sand here, or something specific? Or are the finishes not really slippery when wet?
Many Thanks,
Bob A.
IMG_2673_2.jpg
It depends on the look you want. If it needs to stay as close as possible to the bare wood look: Bona Naturale. Otherwise, the only things I use on floors, or stairs, is Moisture Cure Urethane, or whatever the newest version of Bona Traffic is. I'd never use a regular polyurethane. If using Bona, Naturale is usually the first coat anyway. I'm sure MCU is a no-go in California.
The supplier I use for floor stuff is Horizon Forest Products. I didn't see MCU's listed on their website, but the last time I was in a store they had it. http://www.horizonforest.com/product-categories/finish/
It used to be Long Flooring Supply, and they had their own brand of MCU that I used from the '70s to the mid '90s. They still have it listed, but I'm not sure if the formulation has changed. Every floor I did back then is still in use, including the one in our house I built in 1980. It's tough stuff. http://www.horizonforest.com/floorin...g-kote-finish/
Last edited by Tom M King; 02-04-2016 at 1:48 PM.
I agree with the Bona products. They are waterborne and dry much faster and with less odor than the box store polyurethane. They are also in a whole different class as far as abrasion resistance goes. As catalyzed products they can link in ways not possible with the single part finishes.
Very easy to work with too.
Anyone know where to get Bona Traffic in quantities less than a gallon? I need to refinish our stair landing that is about 25 sq ft.
Our stairs have carpet now but hardwood is in the future and I'm going to insist on some type of textured insert, adhesive strips, or whatever. I know how slippery our hardwood floors with poly finish are if they even get a splash of water on them.
Erik
Ex-SCM and Felder rep