This looks absolutely amazing, a day and night difference; it seems your helper was sort of mad that you didn't mention his help. But this is wonderful work.
It looks great! I've finished staircases before, too. One trick that is a game changer is after the treads and other stained parts are 0completely finished, apply the tape, THEN along the tape line that will meet the paint, apply a coat of poly and let it dry. Paint and when you pull the tape off, a clean line will appear. The poly seals the tape. I'm a DIY lady, too and love to see other women tackle fix it jobs. You keep it up!!
I applaud your bravery and resilience, I'd be afraid to do the job like this all by myself with the dog that does not want to leave my sight. As long as you are satisfied with the results, nobody can tell you, you were wrong. But just for the rest of the viewers, I wanted to give a couple of suggestions from my own experience. Using an electrical sander without an experience, especially the round one, could be a very tricky thing. Even with the smaller, iron shaped, one has to make sure the entire area is sanded with the same pressure, and to get to every nook and cranny by hand, where the sander can not reach. Sanding corners, rounded and uneven shapes are notoriously difficult. Even gel stain should not be treated like a paint, it is not its purpose. The reason you should apply it along the grain is, so we could see the grain, otherwise you could have painted the railing and the stairs in the water based paint, The lacquer that was chosen for this job was very light duty (both railing, and especially stairs require at least 4 to 5 coats of an oil based polyurethane, or more complicated finishes) Every coat should be as thin, as possible, and lightly sanded after drying. The reason there were "bleeding" of the paint was due to the wrong brush that was used, actually in the places near tape, the additional, small brush should be used.
OMG!! This house looks exactly like my mothers house. Same stairs, front entrance, and stairs. She also has stairs coming from the other direction. Lovely house btw. :) Wanting to paint the stairs and risers in my house.
I have similar scenario in my house and I was wondering if I could do here EXACTLY what you did at your place, so thanks for this video, it helped me a lot. I'm planning to tackle this project soon. Regards from Montreal, Canada!
Thanks so much for all of your tips! I just had my floors redone in a dark Jacobean and now need to transform my Cherry Stained Red Oak staircase banister to match. Wish me luck! - from one dog-lover to another :)
I want to get my dark wood banisters like your original ones 😂 prefer the wood and white. Black and white for me is to stark and cold. But respect you done a good job
I've been watching a lot of stairs videos today and found yours just now; just wanted to let you know I recognize you as I used to work with your brother 😂
I love it!!!! so pretty and what I am looking to do on my own stairs. The thought of going through this process is way to much for me, but I love it!! I have almost the same colors on my stairs the oak rails, but carpeting on the steps. I went to Home Depot recently, and bought some black semi gloss paint by Bear, and was told I didn't need a primer, and all I did was cleaned the railing, applied the paint, and it turned out beautiful!! it looks just like yours it has a beautiful gloss, but not to shiny. I want to do the stairs black, with the white backing so I hope all I have to do is do some sanding down, and paint, because the thought of doing all you did give me cringes, lol, so I am praying for the best with how I am going to do it. I will be putting either a stair runner, or stair treads for both beauty, and non slipping. Thank you for this video you did an amazing job!!
Black is a great option if you don’t want to do the stain. I personally would have primed just for better adhesions and durability but some paint has primer in it so hopefully it works for you. For stair runners, I got you covered! I had to add one because my dogs kept falling down the stairs and scratching them! Here’s my stair runner and I think included a link to the stair runner carpet I bought. It was so nice and reasonably priced too! ua-cam.com/video/mO4OQdZSYZ0/v-deo.html
@@Allthingsfadra Thank you for your response, and just as you mentioned I was also thinking about scratches, because I have a cat, and wasn't sure how that work out trying to prevent scratches, so I decided well I'll get stair treads, and my idea was to still paint the stairs but not the entire step. I would only paint a little pass the side of the treads, and the front of the step, in short I would leave the middle of the step untouched with paint, lol. Then I said I would still use this same concept if I bought a runner, but I don't have a staple gun, so I will see. Thank you for the video, and can I ask your advice I am almost done pulling the carpet off the stairs, but there are these tiny staples that are hard to get out, the carpet was put down about twenty years ago I been here for twelve, and these things are driving me up the wall there are so many they are so hard to pull out, and some of them are pointy. I don't know if I can send you a picture so I can show what they look like I have a daughter with special and I want to make sure she's safe traveling on the stairs, thank you in advance!
@@abidingonthestraightandnar5330 I know this is 7 months later but I don't think I ever saw your second comment. Did you ever get your staples pulled out? I had a special staple puller tool that helped me so much. But needle nose pliers will work too. It's just a tedious job!
Wow, you did great! I’m planning on doing this. Oak is out and I hadn’t even considered painting the catwalk trim on the floor white. That’s such a great idea. Thank you for this, especially all the tips! Looks like hard work, congrats turned out fabulous!
We have the same exact stairs. Circa 1995/96. But the builder carpeted the entire step and it's the raw looking unfinished wood underneath. Because of all of the same type of oak in our house. We decided to go with Marnoleum sheet vinyl in a snappy color.
Your bamboo floors look like mine. You are right, they have their own set of issues. Getting ready to take the bamboo out as it continually shrinks on me … I live in Utah with low humidity.
I love the floors but the few gaps make me crazy. We let the wood acclimate for a long time and still have gaps after installing. We even installed a whole house humidifier! It’s the one annoyance I have.
Hi! Great video and great tips! I have a log cabin and want to stain my stairs also w the dark stain. What polyeurethine did you use for the treads? Also to clarify, 2 coats of base stain and 4 coats of top coat? Thanks!
Hi there - sorry I missed this comment. Yes, 2 coats and 4 coast - you got it right! I used a water based polyurethane for high traffic areas. Water based will never be as durable but with a bird in the house, we can't use heavy fumes. So if you can, I would use an oil-based polyurethane for durability.
That was all about the primer. I would definitely use a standalone primer (I needed 2 coats) and then probably 2 coats of paint. The primer dries really quickly though!
You are DEFINITELY going to want a runner. The kids might be okay but I was disappointed at how much my dog scratched it. It just ended up being too slick. So I did a few repairs and added a runner, which you can see here! ua-cam.com/video/mO4OQdZSYZ0/v-deo.html Now it's fantastic and still looking good.
I want to do this and love your video. Maybe I missed it, but how did you access the upstairs during this project. Could you walk on it after you started the staining process? Thanks
I did mention it briefly. That was definitely a challenge! Luckily the gel stain dries to the touch in about 2 hours. So I started early, worked my way from the top down, and then blocked off the stairs for the rest of the day. Then by bedtime, I let everyone walk up lightly in their socks (my 80 pound dog just had to do her thing) and by the next morning it was fine. It dries surprisingly quickly.
I pulled all the carpet off and did the treads first. If you’re planning to do a stain and paint combo, I’d do the staining first. I also did a separate video on installing a carpet runner if you want to check it out.
I did a light sanding, not to get it down to the bare wood but to rough up the finish enough for the stain to adhere. It was really my application techniques. I learned to apply the gel stain thickly!
Yeah you did a good job. That stain is really dark. You probably could have just done dark brown paint. 😹 I'm gearing myself upto doing my stairway, railings and kitchen/bathroom cabinets. What fun it'll be...
May I ask you that I use the oil base stain on my thread , so what kind of the finish coat should I use. Thanks. The video help me a lot. Your staircase look beautiful !.
You would want to use an oil-based finish. Just look for something that is specifically for stairs or heavy traffic flooring. Varathane is a good brand.
I haven’t read through comments but I wanted to clarify the risers. I only have to paint over stained risers and paint white. I will get scuff behr paint. Did you end up with satin or semi or gloss. I was thinking gloss would be easier to wipe off scuffs. Also, did you do light sanding on risers before priming?
I went with satin. I personally don’t like gloss and find it really difficult to work with. I use a lot of Behr paint and the high end line is washable, even with a flat paint. I’m pretty sure I did no sanding on the risers. If I did it would have been super light just to rough up the surface. The primer does most of the work and adheres to almost any surface.
Hi Fadra. Thanks for the video and nice job! A couple other videos I watched on the stair rail/banister redo project included a cleaning of the rail and spindles and base before staining and repainting. Did you feel this step wasn't necessary? Thanks!
It’s never a bad idea. They clean it for 2 reasons: to make sure you have a smooth surface for finishing and to make sure you don’t have anything oil-based that could affect adhesion. For this project, I wasn’t that concerned because of the products I was using. I cleaned with a damp rag, did a light sanding on the rails (not the spindles), and wipes down again. The gel stain is designed to sit on top of the wood, more like paint. Regular stain would be more affected by irregular finish. For any of the areas that I was painting, I did a simple wipe down to get it clean, but because I used a primer, it created a base perfect for pairing and adhesion. I tend to take shortcuts so I didn’t think cleaning the surface with anything other than water was necessary with the products I used.
@@Allthingsfadra Thank you for prompt response. I also asked because here in California where I live, the products recommended for cleaning (mineral spirits and denatured alcohol) aren't available for some reason, so I was hoping it wouldn't be a big deal if I just wiped clean and sanded like you did. Appreciate your feedback!
@@toddj893 Wow - I can’t believe they aren’t available! I will say (and I don’t think I put this in the video) that I got some stain on the spindles when I was working and mineral spirits took it right off. So if you don’t have access to that, just be extra careful!
Your stairs look amazing what color and brand stain did you use for the stairs not the railing , I see you show the can for the railing but not the stairs?
I like your video and will be doing a big project myself at a remodel I'm working on. It looks fabulous. However, I hear a pet bird in the background and saw the cage. The fumes will kill them in a heart beat. I painted my exterior front door, and some fumes still got into the house and I think it may have contributed to my 17 yr old cockatiels' death. Happy that your birdie was still chirping in the end of the video. But just a warning to other viewers to put birds in a room far from your project and not have a/c or heat circulation going on during the project.
Thanks for your concern. We were definitely factoring in our parakeet, George, for this project. That’s the primary reason I used water-based finishes, even though oil-based are more durable. When I was using the stain (which had the most odor), we moved him to the back of the house and I opened all the nearby windows (even though it was chilly!). We are cautious about fumes and did our best to keep him safe ☺️
Great Video! would you mind to share how much product you end using for the stairs treads? the stain and the top finish please? also you mention you used the gel, but the link takes me to the one coat stain, is that the one you ended using? and the top finish for the stairs it takes me to the Varathane Diamond wood floor is that is the one you use? i really appreciate as that will help me a lot to determine the amount I might need.
Thanks for the catch! Links can get outdated pretty quickly so I’ve updated my blog post with the EXACT products I used (it links to Home Depot now, where I got most of my supplies). I’m pretty sure I used 2 quarts of the gel stain and 1 quart of the finish for the railings. For the stair treads, I think I purchased a gallon. Not sure it comes in smaller sizes as it’s meant for larger surface areas. Also, Home Depot has calculators that will help you figure out how much you need.
@@Allthingsfadra Thank you for the quick response! I saw your other video how your dog did the scratches, based on your experience this should not happened to quick for a normal traffic with kids or leaving shoes on! any thoughts?
@@hectorchavarria633 I had a couple of things going on here. We have a relatively new 80 pound dog. And when she would run down the stairs, she would slip on the surface and that's when her nails would scratch. Not from normal dog or foot traffic. With that said, I was a bit disappointed at the scratches which I chalk up to the fact that the finish is water-based. They just aren't as durable as oil-based finishes generally. I knew that going in but chose it because oil-based has much higher odor (which we can't have with a bird in the house!) and it takes much longer to cure. We just couldn't have the upstairs sealed off for 3 days. It's a trade-off and in the end, I like the look with the carper runner so I'm really happy!
The white I used has been PERFECT. I ended up using the Scuff Defense paint from Behr that I got at Home Depot. I also ended up putting a carpet runner on the stairs as well (I did a follow up video on that!)
Hello are you there some of the steps weren't clear, I want to do well and make my wife proud of me. Started getting lost around the priming part, and the prep for it wish there was a little more focus on the prep work for it
It looks great! I like the slight contrast from the floors, typically as long as the flooring is in the same color family, having the staircase in another hue offers more variety. My flooring is slightly lighter in comparison to yours, my staircase was matched during the build, which is ultimately cringeworthy for me. I am beginning my mental prep for staining/painting (not sure which way yet) mine something of the charcoal family. I also do not like a bright reflective sheen, this finish is perfect, too matte on a staircase could cause it to look unfinished. How long total time did this take you?
I mentally prepped for this for years because it seemed too overwhelming. It probably took me 6 weeks in total. It’s hard to say because I worked mainly on weekends but a lot of the time is spent waiting for coats to dry and cure!
Painting is definitely an option, although it would still probably require two coats. My original goal was to have some wood grain show through, an effect achieved only through stain. This stain came out darker than I expected but it’s still stain!
I don’t remember where I got it because it was a loooooooong time ago but if you look at caulk scrapers on Amazon, there are plenty that will do the job.
I light sanded the areas I was painting white and then used an orbital sander on the treads. I wasn’t attempting to get to bare wood. Just to make it a more even surface for adhesion.
I very much appreciate your confidence ,dedication and positive attitude!
Beautiful!!!! Nice work. I am soon going to tackle my stairs. Thanks for all your advise.
Beautiful Job👍👍👍
Looks amazing and I love your calming voice and patience.
I'm in process of doing my stairs. Good tips. Very good job.
This looks absolutely amazing, a day and night difference; it seems your helper was sort of mad that you didn't mention his help. But this is wonderful work.
It looks great! I've finished staircases before, too. One trick that is a game changer is after the treads and other stained parts are 0completely finished, apply the tape, THEN along the tape line that will meet the paint, apply a coat of poly and let it dry. Paint and when you pull the tape off, a clean line will appear. The poly seals the tape. I'm a DIY lady, too and love to see other women tackle fix it jobs. You keep it up!!
That's a great trick and would have saved me a little heartache!
This is the best stair makeover tutorial on UA-cam. Thank you!!!
I love it but it makes me happy that I spent so much time filming it! Thank you!
You did an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING job! Good for you!
Great video. I’ve been in the process stripping my staircase but I still learned a ton from your video. Thanks for sharing
Glad it helped!
Great job Fadra. Appreciate your sharing the good, bad, and ugly of the process, lol. Your stairs look great!
Thanks Paul!
Wow! You did such an amazing job! You have inspired me to do this very same project on my orange-y oak staircases!
Thanks - you can do it! I was overwhelmed at first but it ended up not being as hard as I thought - once I figured out all my techniques!
Look’s beautiful! Great job! I’ve been wanting to do my stairs like yours. You inspired me to do mine. Thanks for all the great tips.
You did a great job! It looks beautiful. 👍
Thank you! 😊
So cool! So proud of you. Thanks for this video
OMG!! I wish I had the patience! That takes a special person to be able to do all of that!
Or a cheap one that doesn’t want to hire someone 😉
You did a wonderful job!!!
I applaud your bravery and resilience, I'd be afraid to do the job like this all by myself with the dog that does not want to leave my sight.
As long as you are satisfied with the results, nobody can tell you, you were wrong.
But just for the rest of the viewers, I wanted to give a couple of suggestions from my own experience.
Using an electrical sander without an experience, especially the round one, could be a very tricky thing. Even with the smaller, iron shaped, one has to make sure the entire area is sanded with the same pressure, and to get to every nook and cranny by hand, where the sander can not reach. Sanding corners, rounded and uneven shapes are notoriously difficult.
Even gel stain should not be treated like a paint, it is not its purpose. The reason you should apply it along the grain is, so we could see the grain, otherwise you could have painted the railing and the stairs in the water based paint,
The lacquer that was chosen for this job was very light duty (both railing, and especially stairs require at least 4 to 5 coats of an oil based polyurethane, or more complicated finishes)
Every coat should be as thin, as possible, and lightly sanded after drying.
The reason there were "bleeding" of the paint was due to the wrong brush that was used, actually in the places near tape, the additional, small brush should be used.
You did great. I have been doing projects like all the time when I had my house.
OMG!! This house looks exactly like my mothers house. Same stairs, front entrance, and stairs. She also has stairs coming from the other direction. Lovely house btw. :) Wanting to paint the stairs and risers in my house.
I enjoyed every minute of this video, the work is incredible, thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much!
It looks beautiful! You should be proud of yourself.
Thank you!!
I love your attention to detail And all your wonderful tips on such a big project. Thank you
Weekend Fadra rocks!
So glad you filmed this. I’m doing mine now and you gave some really great tips. So thank you,❤
Good luck and take your time!
I really didn't know where to start so this was the most useful video I've found. Thanks, it your stairs look great!
That makes me so happy! I’ve since added a carpet runner and will be posting a follow up. Let me know if you have any questions!
Great job. It looks fantastic and the video was well made. I plan to do my stairs shortly and this is a big help. Thanks........
Glad it was helpful!
I think you did an amazing job. Your patience is needed for this long process. Respect
I have similar scenario in my house and I was wondering if I could do here EXACTLY what you did at your place, so thanks for this video, it helped me a lot. I'm planning to tackle this project soon. Regards from Montreal, Canada!
You can do it!
Thanks so much for all of your tips! I just had my floors redone in a dark Jacobean and now need to transform my Cherry Stained Red Oak staircase banister to match. Wish me luck! - from one dog-lover to another :)
You can do it!
Wonderful job!!! Such an inspiration!!
I have almost exactly the same project. Your video will be a huge help to me, thanks!
Good luck! It’s a lot of work but you’ll be thrilled when it’s done.
Thanks, that is exactly what I want to do with my stairs 😊
Gorgeous!
You are great!!! Beautiful finish, but it is a very difficult project which I am not capable of doing. Nice job!
The best video!!!! Thank you very much I will start my staircase this week and I know this is going to help me a lot!💪💪💪💪🌷🌷🌷🌷
So excited for you! Just have patience and it will be beautiful in the end!
Looks great!
Beautiful!
Thanks for such a detailed video!
Glad it was helpful!
It looks AMAZING good job!!!
Thanks!!!
I enjoyed the chatter of the parakeets in the background.
Just one parakeet but he makes enough noise for more than one!
Well done! Very impressive
Thank you very much!
It’s so so beautiful I love the results I have the same stairs and your advices are precious to me! Thank you
You are so welcome!
Great job! Thanks for all the tips!
You’re the best, thank you soooooooo much for your video 🙏
You’re welcome 😊
Phenomenal job!!!
Thank you!!
Looks great
Looks great. doing ours in the same colors. Yep pain in the ars
I want to get my dark wood banisters like your original ones 😂 prefer the wood and white. Black and white for me is to stark and cold. But respect you done a good job
This was helpful. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
I've been watching a lot of stairs videos today and found yours just now; just wanted to let you know I recognize you as I used to work with your brother 😂
Which brother???
@@Allthingsfadra Aaron!
Damn! Looks really awesome!
Thanks!
Nice work
Absolutely love it.... you did such an amazing job 👍
Thank you! It’s not perfect but I’m proud of it!
I love it!!!! so pretty and what I am looking to do on my own stairs. The thought of going through this process is way to much for me, but I love it!! I have almost the same colors on my stairs the oak rails, but carpeting on the steps. I went to Home Depot recently, and bought some black semi gloss paint by Bear, and was told I didn't need a primer, and all I did was cleaned the railing, applied the paint, and it turned out beautiful!! it looks just like yours it has a beautiful gloss, but not to shiny. I want to do the stairs black, with the white backing so I hope all I have to do is do some sanding down, and paint, because the thought of doing all you did give me cringes, lol, so I am praying for the best with how I am going to do it. I will be putting either a stair runner, or stair treads for both beauty, and non slipping. Thank you for this video you did an amazing job!!
Black is a great option if you don’t want to do the stain. I personally would have primed just for better adhesions and durability but some paint has primer in it so hopefully it works for you. For stair runners, I got you covered! I had to add one because my dogs kept falling down the stairs and scratching them! Here’s my stair runner and I think included a link to the stair runner carpet I bought. It was so nice and reasonably priced too! ua-cam.com/video/mO4OQdZSYZ0/v-deo.html
@@Allthingsfadra Thank you for your response, and just as you mentioned I was also thinking about scratches, because I have a cat, and wasn't sure how that work out trying to prevent scratches, so I decided well I'll get stair treads, and my idea was to still paint the stairs but not the entire step. I would only paint a little pass the side of the treads, and the front of the step, in short I would leave the middle of the step untouched with paint, lol. Then I said I would still use this same concept if I bought a runner, but I don't have a staple gun, so I will see. Thank you for the video, and can I ask your advice I am almost done pulling the carpet off the stairs, but there are these tiny staples that are hard to get out, the carpet was put down about twenty years ago I been here for twelve, and these things are driving me up the wall there are so many they are so hard to pull out, and some of them are pointy. I don't know if I can send you a picture so I can show what they look like I have a daughter with special and I want to make sure she's safe traveling on the stairs, thank you in advance!
@@abidingonthestraightandnar5330 I know this is 7 months later but I don't think I ever saw your second comment. Did you ever get your staples pulled out? I had a special staple puller tool that helped me so much. But needle nose pliers will work too. It's just a tedious job!
Love it
Beautiful
Wow, you did great! I’m planning on doing this. Oak is out and I hadn’t even considered painting the catwalk trim on the floor white. That’s such a great idea. Thank you for this, especially all the tips! Looks like hard work, congrats turned out fabulous!
Thanks for watching! It was a BIG project but not necessarily as hard as I thought it would be. I’m still so happy with it!
Love it!❤
I love it❤❤❤❤
We have the same exact stairs. Circa 1995/96. But the builder carpeted the entire step and it's the raw looking unfinished wood underneath. Because of all of the same type of oak in our house. We decided to go with Marnoleum sheet vinyl in a snappy color.
Had to google that one. I had never heard of marmoleum. My way was definitely a lot of work!
great job
Classy!
Your bamboo floors look like mine. You are right, they have their own set of issues. Getting ready to take the bamboo out as it continually shrinks on me … I live in Utah with low humidity.
I love the floors but the few gaps make me crazy. We let the wood acclimate for a long time and still have gaps after installing. We even installed a whole house humidifier! It’s the one annoyance I have.
Fantastic!
Beautiful 👌
Hi! Great video and great tips! I have a log cabin and want to stain my stairs also w the dark stain. What polyeurethine did you use for the treads? Also to clarify, 2 coats of base stain and 4 coats of top coat? Thanks!
Hi there - sorry I missed this comment. Yes, 2 coats and 4 coast - you got it right! I used a water based polyurethane for high traffic areas. Water based will never be as durable but with a bird in the house, we can't use heavy fumes. So if you can, I would use an oil-based polyurethane for durability.
Lovely
Love it! You can’t see the oak on your risers. Which is great. Was that because of the good primer or several coats of the white paint? Thanks
That was all about the primer. I would definitely use a standalone primer (I needed 2 coats) and then probably 2 coats of paint. The primer dries really quickly though!
looks amazing, how has it held up? I have kids and a big dog? was thinking of getting a runner too. So it wears better.
You are DEFINITELY going to want a runner. The kids might be okay but I was disappointed at how much my dog scratched it. It just ended up being too slick. So I did a few repairs and added a runner, which you can see here! ua-cam.com/video/mO4OQdZSYZ0/v-deo.html Now it's fantastic and still looking good.
This looks amazing! I think you did a good job and liked that you included your lessons learned. What was the color of the stain you used?
Thanks! I’m pretty sure I ended up using Java.
I want to do this and love your video. Maybe I missed it, but how did you access the upstairs during this project. Could you walk on it after you started the staining process? Thanks
I did mention it briefly. That was definitely a challenge! Luckily the gel stain dries to the touch in about 2 hours. So I started early, worked my way from the top down, and then blocked off the stairs for the rest of the day. Then by bedtime, I let everyone walk up lightly in their socks (my 80 pound dog just had to do her thing) and by the next morning it was fine. It dries surprisingly quickly.
Looks very nice!
I d like to do mine prior to putting carpet runners so the sides look just as good. Any suggestions? Would you do risers first?
I pulled all the carpet off and did the treads first. If you’re planning to do a stain and paint combo, I’d do the staining first. I also did a separate video on installing a carpet runner if you want to check it out.
You Rock! Great Work!
Thank you for giving me the confidence to start this major undertaking!
Hello great job! I missed if you sanded the banister? I’m assuming that’s why it didn’t go on very opaque?
I did a light sanding, not to get it down to the bare wood but to rough up the finish enough for the stain to adhere. It was really my application techniques. I learned to apply the gel stain thickly!
good job do you sand between the stain coats?
Yeah you did a good job. That stain is really dark. You probably could have just done dark brown paint. 😹 I'm gearing myself upto doing my stairway, railings and kitchen/bathroom cabinets. What fun it'll be...
It’s is darker than I wanted but I still like the look of stain over paint.
May I ask you that I use the oil base stain on my thread , so what kind of the finish coat should I use. Thanks. The video help me a lot. Your staircase look beautiful !.
You would want to use an oil-based finish. Just look for something that is specifically for stairs or heavy traffic flooring. Varathane is a good brand.
@@Allthingsfadra Thank you, mam.
I haven’t read through comments but I wanted to clarify the risers. I only have to paint over stained risers and paint white. I will get scuff behr paint. Did you end up with satin or semi or gloss. I was thinking gloss would be easier to wipe off scuffs. Also, did you do light sanding on risers before priming?
I went with satin. I personally don’t like gloss and find it really difficult to work with. I use a lot of Behr paint and the high end line is washable, even with a flat paint. I’m pretty sure I did no sanding on the risers. If I did it would have been super light just to rough up the surface. The primer does most of the work and adheres to almost any surface.
Fadra, nice job! I caught your bulldog on your video. We are looking for a reputable breeder. Do you have a recommendation?
I actually inherited her from my mom. The woman that bred her was in Texas and ended up closing up shop. Wish I could help!
Hmm....will it be a safety issue because edges of stairs are no longer highly visible?
Hi Fadra. Thanks for the video and nice job! A couple other videos I watched on the stair rail/banister redo project included a cleaning of the rail and spindles and base before staining and repainting. Did you feel this step wasn't necessary? Thanks!
It’s never a bad idea. They clean it for 2 reasons: to make sure you have a smooth surface for finishing and to make sure you don’t have anything oil-based that could affect adhesion. For this project, I wasn’t that concerned because of the products I was using. I cleaned with a damp rag, did a light sanding on the rails (not the spindles), and wipes down again. The gel stain is designed to sit on top of the wood, more like paint. Regular stain would be more affected by irregular finish. For any of the areas that I was painting, I did a simple wipe down to get it clean, but because I used a primer, it created a base perfect for pairing and adhesion.
I tend to take shortcuts so I didn’t think cleaning the surface with anything other than water was necessary with the products I used.
@@Allthingsfadra Thank you for prompt response. I also asked because here in California where I live, the products recommended for cleaning (mineral spirits and denatured alcohol) aren't available for some reason, so I was hoping it wouldn't be a big deal if I just wiped clean and sanded like you did. Appreciate your feedback!
@@toddj893 Wow - I can’t believe they aren’t available! I will say (and I don’t think I put this in the video) that I got some stain on the spindles when I was working and mineral spirits took it right off. So if you don’t have access to that, just be extra careful!
Did you sand before staining?
Your stairs look amazing what color and brand stain did you use for the stairs not the railing , I see you show the can for the railing but not the stairs?
I used the same stain for the railing and the stair treads. It’s the Varathane Gel Stain and I think the color I ended up using was Kona.
Awesome video! Thanks so much! What color stain did you use?
I think I ended up using Java.
I like your video and will be doing a big project myself at a remodel I'm working on. It looks fabulous. However, I hear a pet bird in the background and saw the cage. The fumes will kill them in a heart beat. I painted my exterior front door, and some fumes still got into the house and I think it may have contributed to my 17 yr old cockatiels' death. Happy that your birdie was still chirping in the end of the video. But just a warning to other viewers to put birds in a room far from your project and not have a/c or heat circulation going on during the project.
Thanks for your concern. We were definitely factoring in our parakeet, George, for this project. That’s the primary reason I used water-based finishes, even though oil-based are more durable. When I was using the stain (which had the most odor), we moved him to the back of the house and I opened all the nearby windows (even though it was chilly!). We are cautious about fumes and did our best to keep him safe ☺️
I will have to refinish my stairs a second time because of dog damage. I will be putting a runner on afterwards to protect the stairs AND the dogs.
I don’t know if you saw this video that I did but I feel you! ua-cam.com/video/mO4OQdZSYZ0/v-deo.htmlsi=G_K_splpXs7IiHz0
I would love to do mine as well but I’m afraid painting makes the stairs very slippery any tips?
I do! Mine ended up being way too slippery for the dogs so I added a runner. Check it out! ua-cam.com/video/mO4OQdZSYZ0/v-deo.html
Great Video! would you mind to share how much product you end using for the stairs treads? the stain and the top finish please? also you mention you used the gel, but the link takes me to the one coat stain, is that the one you ended using? and the top finish for the stairs it takes me to the Varathane Diamond wood floor is that is the one you use? i really appreciate as that will help me a lot to determine the amount I might need.
Thanks for the catch! Links can get outdated pretty quickly so I’ve updated my blog post with the EXACT products I used (it links to Home Depot now, where I got most of my supplies). I’m pretty sure I used 2 quarts of the gel stain and 1 quart of the finish for the railings. For the stair treads, I think I purchased a gallon. Not sure it comes in smaller sizes as it’s meant for larger surface areas. Also, Home Depot has calculators that will help you figure out how much you need.
@@Allthingsfadra Thank you for the quick response! I saw your other video how your dog did the scratches, based on your experience this should not happened to quick for a normal traffic with kids or leaving shoes on! any thoughts?
@@hectorchavarria633 I had a couple of things going on here. We have a relatively new 80 pound dog. And when she would run down the stairs, she would slip on the surface and that's when her nails would scratch. Not from normal dog or foot traffic. With that said, I was a bit disappointed at the scratches which I chalk up to the fact that the finish is water-based. They just aren't as durable as oil-based finishes generally. I knew that going in but chose it because oil-based has much higher odor (which we can't have with a bird in the house!) and it takes much longer to cure. We just couldn't have the upstairs sealed off for 3 days. It's a trade-off and in the end, I like the look with the carper runner so I'm really happy!
How does the white hold up with high traffic? I’m scared that it’ll end up getting so much dirty
The white I used has been PERFECT. I ended up using the Scuff Defense paint from Behr that I got at Home Depot. I also ended up putting a carpet runner on the stairs as well (I did a follow up video on that!)
Did you use java or kona stain color?
I have my whole supply list here: allthingsfadra.com/diy-staircase-makeover-step-by-step/ and I’m pretty sure I ended up with Kona.
Hello are you there some of the steps weren't clear, I want to do well and make my wife proud of me. Started getting lost around the priming part, and the prep for it wish there was a little more focus on the prep work for it
It looks great! I like the slight contrast from the floors, typically as long as the flooring is in the same color family, having the staircase in another hue offers more variety. My flooring is slightly lighter in comparison to yours, my staircase was matched during the build, which is ultimately cringeworthy for me. I am beginning my mental prep for staining/painting (not sure which way yet) mine something of the charcoal family. I also do not like a bright reflective sheen, this finish is perfect, too matte on a staircase could cause it to look unfinished. How long total time did this take you?
I mentally prepped for this for years because it seemed too overwhelming. It probably took me 6 weeks in total. It’s hard to say because I worked mainly on weekends but a lot of the time is spent waiting for coats to dry and cure!
Did you have any issues with the gel stain remaining tacky?
No, actually. None of the products felt tacky which was surprising to me. I think the primer was the worst to work with!
Did you use a wood conditioner prior to staining?
No, I didn’t.
Why not just paint them black or chestnut brown in 1 coat??
Painting is definitely an option, although it would still probably require two coats. My original goal was to have some wood grain show through, an effect achieved only through stain. This stain came out darker than I expected but it’s still stain!
@@Allthingsfadra Stain is also less likely to peel and chip as paint does over time.
Which caulk scraper did you use?
I don’t remember where I got it because it was a loooooooong time ago but if you look at caulk scrapers on Amazon, there are plenty that will do the job.
I like it originally. Every one has black and white stairs from Pinecrest. Lacks character in my own opinion.
If I’m doing gray gel stain should I primer first
If you use primer, you won’t see any of the wood grain at all. As long as you are going from a lighter to a darker color, you should be fine.
Do you think gel stain better or semi gloss paint I don’t like the wood grain but I don’t know which one better
So much work i ak afraid i can do it or not
Did you sand first?
I light sanded the areas I was painting white and then used an orbital sander on the treads. I wasn’t attempting to get to bare wood. Just to make it a more even surface for adhesion.