Thread: Oil finish? Stairs WIP

Originally Posted by DaveTTC

I was thinking maybe danish oil?

Any thoughts?

Dave,

For my turning I use "Antique Oil Finish" made by Minwax rather then Danish oil. I find I need very few coats ( 2 or 3 ) to get the same finish as Danish oil, still wipe on with a cloth and it's less then $ 30 per litre available from some Masters stores.

Although it penetrates you can sand it easily (at least on the lathe) but I don't know of your sanding needs.

This may be worthwhile for you.

Peter.

Thanks Peter. That may be the go then

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

Originally Posted by Sturdee

Dave,

For my turning I use "Antique Oil Finish" made by Minwax rather then Danish oil. I find I need very few coats ( 2 or 3 ) to get the same finish as Danish oil, still wipe on with a cloth and it's less then $ 30 per litre available from some Masters stores.

Although it penetrates you can sand it easily (at least on the lathe) but I don't know of your sanding needs.

This may be worthwhile for you.

Peter.

Apparently this is discontinued

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

Danish would be ok for all but the treads - not sure if it will wear very well under foot. If the treads could handle a slight yellow tint then you could use Minwax Decking Oil natural for the treads. Used it on the deck at the back door (and shed) and it wears pretty well (unless that other bloke shows up again). Home Hardware stocks it, and Masters prolly do to.

Actually I doubt there'd be a huge difference in the effect of Danish verses the decking oil - a slightly different colour shift, but still warmer.

Edit: Oh, and if you use Danish don't use Organoil brand - too orange and the timber tends to nib up more. Rustins is the go (Trend Timbers sell it among others).

Originally Posted by DaveTTC

Apparently this is discontinued

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

Dave I presume that Gregory Hills is the closest Masters store to where you are working, if so they are still having stock as per this link.


Peter.

It took me to a vic store?

Not sure which store i went to. Somewhere near seven hills

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

I changed the store to Gregory Hills, NSW which is the nearest store to Helensburgh, where I presume you are, rather then my local store.

Masters, Gregory Hills
2 Rodeo Road, Gregory Hills
Phone: 02 4648 7300
Thu: 6:00 am - 9:00 pm
Fri: 6:00 am - 9:00 pm
27.1 km away

Try changing the store location.

Peter.

Trying now


Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

It seems to be in stock there

Is 45 km away. Have to see if im going tht way in the next day or so

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

Hi Dave,

The staircase looks antique - is it? If it is antique the staircase would have originally been finished with shellac. Usually there will be some remnant shellac on the timber and it will respond well to applying new shellac. You can brush it on with a fine lacquer brush and get a great finish that is easy to apply and appropriate for the age of the stair.

IMHO Oil is not an appropriate finish for an old staircase.

Bulk brown button shellac is available by the kilo from Shines in NSW (0418 883 551) just dissolve it in metho (B**n**gs is OK) and paint it on. It dries quickly and looks good.

PM me if you want further instructions

Regards

David

More than happy for you to out the instructions up on the thread David. Then it will be there for others to see too.

I will hat to my SIL and aee if she is happy to go the shellac way.

How would shellac go with having to strip some of the stairs back in the future? You can see this section was very poorly done



She just wants a quick finish so she can rent it out for a year or so till she moves back.

Yes it is the original stair case.

Here is one section from upstairs before I stripped it back



Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

Dave if your SIL is going to rent it
Shellac the stairs for now
It's easer to reverse than oil or other products
And easy to touch up for now

Dave, As Simplicity says, shellac is the easiest to reverse or to clean off if you want to fix the poor stripping later - just use metho!

With the buttons I crush them (in cloth with a hammer) then tip them into a 4 litre container of metho. I tip out about half a litre first so it doesn't overflow - you can add the metho back later. I will have to look up my little book to get the exact instructions but from memory you put in about 250 gm crushed. It doesn't matter if you put too much in as it just stays in the bottom. Agitate the bottle every few hours until it all dissolves (faster if finely crushed). That makes your stock solution. Dilute the stock solution by 50:50 metho for a job like yours (much more for French polishing). The stock solution will have all sorts of rubbish in it (it is a beetle exudate after all, though not beetle poo). Filter through something fine - I use a stainless steel fine seive for the coarse stock solution, but you would need cheesecloth if you were going to French Polish.

UBeaut have some Hard Shellac sold as a liquid. It cross-links with time and becomes water and heat resistant. You would not use that for anywhere you wanted to strip later but it would be worth asking the man himself it it would be good for fully stripped stairs that you were not going to change in the future.

After our conversation last night and now seeing the photos as well as possible more work in the future, I would agree about using shellac