stripped risers are blotchy?

House Repair Talk

Help Support House Repair Talk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

rokosz

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2013
Messages
171
Reaction score
34
im stripping stair treads. the effort typical for the task. Prepping for staining -- but not dark. The results are perplexing a bit. The strippedwood is clean of paints/primers -- but the wood surface is blotchy in places.
At first I thought it was missed residue, but further sanding made no difference.
generally the blotchiness is in the form of dingy or a grayish tinge.

Can this symptom be addressed? I've heard of "wood brighteners/cleaners" etc. but have never used them. Are there any products out there ya'll have used and are appropriate to the task? And they worked? I don't need freshly milled white results -- but if I could get the 30-50% of this reduced I'd take it as worthwhile.

The wood is pine of some sort (there are a few knots -- but not too many, most treads have no knots). I suspect, given the age of the house, they're from natural/old-growth trees taken in the mid-last century and are likely replacements for the originals *comparing them to the basement stairs.

sorry, thought I had a pic or two, but no.

thanks for anything you can offer.
 
What you are describing sounds as if the greying is the result of tannins possibly from a past finish method, and I would take a photo or two to a regular paint vendor, other than a big box, or floor refinisher for advice.
 
Hi,
well I finished stripping all the steps -- errr maybe a re-phrase: I've stripped quite a bit of old paint from every step...

The wood is definitely pine (and there are a lot more knots in it than I'd had in my memory).

I tried Oxalic Acid on two steps -- seemed hopeful -- but once it dried, douched with fresh and dried again -- they don't look anydifferent.

So, I'm wondering:(see the pics below, the two cleaned ones are the top two steps in the stack)
1) from NealTW's comment: does this look like "paint grade wood"?

2) I'm still pretty keen on staining (darker, heavier than honey, but lighter than gunstock (will attempt to match dark golden of an adjacent banister "plate")) you can see the "plate" in the first pic. It looks the same as the stripped wood but thats the pic exposure lying.

I don't mind this looking (a bit) rustic - the house is old and these are back stairs (high traffic but not entry grade).

Staining will cover some "blotches" -- but it might accentuate contrasts yes?

3) there are fair amount of carpet tack holes and other damage. Anybody here use a stainable product that works well (sticks, stains and stays)?
if not, see 2) above re: "don't mind...rustic".

3a) Those filled nail heads I get the feeling will not stain -- and will be obvious unless replaced yes?

4) Could it be that 1/2 hour sanding/step wasn't enough to get dirt/blotchiness out?
I ask because some of the wood surface now looks like new construction and the gray blotchiness seems to be where feet have been falling for years. (ie center, edge of tread). other blotch looks like it really could be the wood (errrr, paint grade wood)
I had to be careful sanding -- some wood was fairly soft (esp on the tread edges).

thanks!

stairs.jpg


stairs2.jpg


stairs1.jpg
 
You never know what was intended, for me treads are hard wood clear of any knots but some people like that knotty pine look.
If they intended to paint or carpet the wouldn't worry about what got on them like drywall filler and who knows what that would cause.
 
I tried Oxalic Acid on two steps -- seemed hopeful -- but once it dried, douched with fresh and dried again -- they don't look anydifferent.

Have you taken these photos and your pondering to any paint and/or refinishing professionals in your area, to obtain a hands on recommendation?

So, I'm wondering:(see the pics below, the two cleaned ones are the top two steps in the stack)
1) from NealTW's comment: does this look like "paint grade wood"?

Any wood product is either "paint grade" or "stain grade" depending upon your desired outcome.

I don't mind this looking (a bit) rustic - the house is old and these are back stairs (high traffic but not entry grade).

You need to apply a quality urethane product to insure durability.

3) there are fair amount of carpet tack holes and other damage. Anybody here use a stainable product that works well (sticks, stains and stays)?
if not, see 2) above re: "don't mind...rustic".

3a) Those filled nail heads I get the feeling will not stain -- and will be obvious unless replaced yes?

The simplest method of repairing holes is to mix the dust from sanding with paint or lacquer thinner and filling with that paste, sanding and finishing for cleaner product match.
 
You never know what was intended, for me treads are hard wood clear of any knots but some people like that knotty pine look.

Yeah, I'd hoped, before stripping, that there'd be a hardwood there. Alas, not.
As it is I'm ok with some knots. Or I'll repaint, or, more likely, stain as described , evaluate and maybe put a carpet runner in (since most of the ugly is in the center. That could bring some pop to an otherwise neutral space -- and provide some surer footing.
 
Have you taken these photos and your pondering to any paint and/or refinishing professionals in your area, to obtain a hands on recommendation?

hahha. funny. I did. went to the national counters in hardware stores. I think I might know more than they do. I suppose someone around here knows their s__t but finding them is the proberbial needle/haystack.
 
hahha. funny. I did. went to the national counters in hardware stores. I think I might know more than they do. I suppose someone around here knows their s__t but finding them is the proberbial needle/haystack.

How about REAL professionals, like DUNN EDWARDS or SHERWIN WILLIAMS?
 
If you like carpet and hard would you can always cheat.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pSoGcyFpCk[/ame]
 
Back
Top