Internal stairs - hardwearing top finish

[famreeks]

HI,

I have internal stair case which I have been told was built using a soft wood so it marks and has timber wear especially on leading edge. ? maple?

I am going to resand the surface right back and then stain but want a top coat that is hard wearing.

Should I use a polyurethane type coat or coats of tonge oil.

Cheers

Mike

[Chesand]

I used 3 coats of Estapol satin on our new hardwood stairs 30 years ago and it has not needed anything done since.

[texx]

use a 2 pak poly . stairs cop a lot of wear specially on the edge of the treads .
mirror tone was a good one for stairs very hard finish .
been out of the game for a while now but basically any of the better brand 2 pak urathane finishes should do the job 3 coats with a light rub between each coat and do not thin the final coat , thinning the early coats aids in the sanding between coats but very slightly dulls the shine and softens the wear resistance of the final one

[Harry72]

Id be looking at adding a metal wear strip on the leading edge, it wont matter what finish you use its only as hard as whats under it.

[texx]

Id be looking at adding a metal wear strip on the leading edge, it wont matter what finish you use its only as hard as whats under it.
sorry but i don't agree.
a metal strip would make it look very commercial or industrial type stair way .
as for only being as hard as whats underneath then there are a few thousand people that i did cork floors for that have a major problem.
there are a heck of a lot of polished internal stairs all over brisbane that stand up very well to domestic traffic . some soft woods some harder from pine , tassie oak , to kwila .
the key to stopping bad wear areas from scrubbing through is what i used to tell all customers when quoting a job is keep grit or sand off as much as possible just a few door mats in the right places makes a lot of difference , mainly on new houses where the landscaping and pathways have not been established.
then another coat of polish applied when it starts looking thin before it wears right through cos once that happens and you get a gray patch then its back to square one and a resand.
on the cork floors thing one floor i did was the main blood bank in the city ( brisbane )
if you want to see cork floor with poly finish stand up to traffic wear then there is a good example that is or was then a very busy building . and floors don't come much softer than cork.
some parquetry floors we installed were of very soft woods too ,same treatment.
all you have to do is keep gravel and sandy type grit off the area.
if in doubt ring a floor sander you could try my brother inlaw about the oldest and biggest in queensland "apex floor sanding " ask him to recommend a finish for your steps , because i have been out of the trade for a while there will probablly be new finishes out that i don't know about .i would tell you to ring my brother he still has a floor sanding bussiness too but he will keep you on the phone for hours i only ring him when i have 3 or 4 hours to spare

[famreeks]

Thanks for the response.

Texx, I have been looking into a commercial/industrial product - 1 pak poly called Durapol. http://www.polycure.com.au/DURAPOL-Polyurethane-/default.aspx

It seems like a very good product.

Cheers
Mike

[texx]

yep a lot of the newer one pak poly finishes are good sounds like its the same as the old beckathane.( spell )
polycure products are quiet good , 20 years down the track they still send me all the info on the new products as they come out but i never read them maybe i should tell them i am not in that business anymore .
polycure products were used quiet a lot on cork , one pak is a lot easier to use and one pak works better on cork does not dry quite so brittle but will work fine on timber .
if its real soft timber it will be thirsty so you might want to give it 2 coats thinned with about 10% of its thinner then 1 coat with just a dash of the thinner then a 4th coat no thinner a very light sand betwwen each coat 120 grit is fine enough for that job .you can lay the last coat on real heavy on the treads , dont need it very heavy on the stringers and risers though just enough to coat them.

[year12woodwork]

hey famreeks. if you are wantering it to last for over 10 years polyurethane does not last longer then 10 to 15 years and it chips