stairs - to varnish or not?

dee1 · **Posted: 25-03-2010 , 12:34 PM** #1

Does anyone have any idea as to whether you can varnish the steps on the stairs, without breaking your neck afterwards, by slipping on them?

Fries-With-That · **Posted: 25-03-2010 , 10:12 PM** #2

Yes you can, personally I wouldn't use a high gloss varnish and don't sand the steps to a glass smooth finish.

Faroutthere · **Posted: 25-03-2010 , 10:33 PM** #3

Dee ,
Give them a good sanding and cleaning off , then put a clear satin varnish on them . They should come up looking well smart!
Dont however put a coloured stain on firstly cos if you dont like it believe me its the worst job in the world to remove it again!

Bawnie · **Posted: 25-03-2010 , 10:40 PM** #4

It helps keep the dirt down, and not ingrained in the wood! I took ages to stain my stairs and had to sand it a lot to get it back to its natural state & it looked so much better once the job is done!

Natural is nice but if you get the pine stain & add a tiny bit of teak stain you get a gorgeous warmer tone, of course test the colour on a spare piece of timber as over doing it is a killer to remove! :)

kaytina · **Posted: 26-03-2010 , 11:12 PM** #5

my fella did mine years ago,gave them a good sanding and varnished them with yacht varnish...its for boats and very durable...theyr still good and so easy to keep clean...its cheapest in the long run.....

Eibhlin ni Sheambrai · **Posted: 29-03-2010 , 02:47 PM** #6

We used two coats of satin finish yacht varnish. Looks great and not slippy. Cheers, Eibh.

Anne27 · **Posted: 30-03-2010 , 02:01 PM** #7

Have been reading thread with interest. where would i buy yacht varnish????

hardware llike B&Q or a specialist shop???

cheers anne

dee1 · **Posted: 01-04-2010 , 01:00 AM** #8

Thank you to all who replied.
Now all I need to know is,do i varnish one step at a time while the children are at school ??? Or do I do it last thing at night before I go to bed ???
Will one coat do or will I need two,??? due to heavy traffic on stairs..

tigerlilly.100 · **Posted: 01-04-2010 , 02:17 PM** #9

Hi, I varnished mine and they are lovely and bright. Everyone who comes into the house admires them. I wouold recommend doing them at night before bed, just one coat at a time, (as you cant walk on it until it is completely dry), and I would recommend giving them 3 coats especially if they get alot of traffic, and if you have corner steps I would even give those ones 5. It sounds alot but everyone tends to turn their foot on the spot on those ones.

One word of warning though, you will have to train the kids not to run on the stairs in their socks!!! We have had no trouble in shoes, but my son has come sliding down on his back quite a few times and was lucky not to break his ankle!! ( or god forbid...his neck for that matter).

If not in shoes, bare feet are the way to go!

Best of luck and enjoy your lovely new stairs!!

mw100860 · **Posted: 01-04-2010 , 03:38 PM** #10

Quote:

Originally Posted by dee1

Thank you to all who replied.
Now all I need to know is,do i varnish one step at a time while the children are at school ??? Or do I do it last thing at night before I go to bed ???
Will one coat do or will I need two,??? due to heavy traffic on stairs..

A very good tip for painting stairs is to do every second step, so that you can still use them. You will probably have to put some sort of marker to indicate which are varnished and which are not, and when you have the first lot done to your satisfaction, you then use them and varnish the rest.
As far as slipping is concerned that is a very real possibility particularly with children. However you can buy a roll of tape for that very purpose in IKEA, you just cut strips off and stick them to the edge of the steps. LIDL also sometimes do edging for steps of stairs.

mw100860 · **Posted: 02-04-2010 , 01:12 PM** #11

Quote:

Originally Posted by dee1

Thank you to all who replied.
Now all I need to know is,do i varnish one step at a time while the children are at school ??? Or do I do it last thing at night before I go to bed ???
Will one coat do or will I need two,??? due to heavy traffic on stairs..

Edging pads for stairs available in LIDL on April 8th

noddytown · **Posted: 02-04-2010 , 08:09 PM** #12

Use Matt varnish for the steps . Better than satin even . Sand , dust off and wipe with a damp cloth , begin at the top of the stairs and work your way down .
Dulux diamond coat is great , water based (wash out brush in water ) , no fumes and you can walk on it ( in socks) to second coat it after an hour or two , dries in about half an hour . So get stuck in in the morning and they can run upstairs wwhen they get home .

welder9 · **Posted: 03-04-2010 , 07:26 AM** #13

Quote:

Originally Posted by dee1

Does anyone have any idea as to whether you can varnish the steps on the stairs, without breaking your neck afterwards, by slipping on them?

Have a look at a product called Diamond Glaze.After you colour the steps with whichever stain you choose,use this to seal and follow the instructions giving the steps as many coats as you can.It dries pretty quick and gives a safe and extremely durable surface to walk on.Good luck

dee1 · **Posted: 06-04-2010 , 11:23 PM** #14

To all who have taken time to respond thank you, I will take all advise on board, and hope to eventually get to post some photos,of my work to date.
Again thank you all.

palminnie1 · **Posted: 02-05-2010 , 09:33 PM** #15

my twin is mad to paint her stairs a quirky colour, the wood is dire anyway, but the house itself could in years to come be sold, if the economy ever gets back on its feet, does doing something as bold as this devalue a small house?
she is thinking of purple!!!! and a footprint on each step!
palminnie1

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	Posted: 25-03-2010 , 12:34 PM #1
dee1 Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: co. clare Posts: 524	stairs - to varnish or not? Does anyone have any idea as to whether you can varnish the steps on the stairs, without breaking your neck afterwards, by slipping on them?

	Posted: 25-03-2010 , 10:12 PM #2
Fries-With-That Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Nenagh, Co. Tipperary Posts: 505	Varnish on steps Yes you can, personally I wouldn't use a high gloss varnish and don't sand the steps to a glass smooth finish.

	Posted: 25-03-2010 , 10:33 PM #3
Faroutthere Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Westmeath Posts: 86	Dee , Give them a good sanding and cleaning off , then put a clear satin varnish on them . They should come up looking well smart! Dont however put a coloured stain on firstly cos if you dont like it believe me its the worst job in the world to remove it again!

	Posted: 25-03-2010 , 10:40 PM #4
Bawnie Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Wexford Posts: 558	Definitely Varnish! It helps keep the dirt down, and not ingrained in the wood! I took ages to stain my stairs and had to sand it a lot to get it back to its natural state & it looked so much better once the job is done! Natural is nice but if you get the pine stain & add a tiny bit of teak stain you get a gorgeous warmer tone, of course test the colour on a spare piece of timber as over doing it is a killer to remove! :)

	Posted: 26-03-2010 , 11:12 PM #5
kaytina Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: kildare Posts: 143	do... my fella did mine years ago,gave them a good sanding and varnished them with yacht varnish...its for boats and very durable...theyr still good and so easy to keep clean...its cheapest in the long run.....

	Posted: 29-03-2010 , 02:47 PM #6
Eibhlin ni Sheambrai Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Moate, Co. Westmeath Posts: 1,037	stairs We used two coats of satin finish yacht varnish. Looks great and not slippy. Cheers, Eibh.

	Posted: 30-03-2010 , 02:01 PM #7
Anne27 Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Dublin 12 Posts: 261	yacht varnish Have been reading thread with interest. where would i buy yacht varnish???? hardware llike B&Q or a specialist shop??? cheers anne

	Posted: 01-04-2010 , 01:00 AM #8
dee1 Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: co. clare Posts: 524	stairs Thank you to all who replied. Now all I need to know is,do i varnish one step at a time while the children are at school ??? Or do I do it last thing at night before I go to bed ??? Will one coat do or will I need two,??? due to heavy traffic on stairs..

	Posted: 01-04-2010 , 02:17 PM #9
tigerlilly.100 Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Cavan/Dublin Posts: 347	Hi, I varnished mine and they are lovely and bright. Everyone who comes into the house admires them. I wouold recommend doing them at night before bed, just one coat at a time, (as you cant walk on it until it is completely dry), and I would recommend giving them 3 coats especially if they get alot of traffic, and if you have corner steps I would even give those ones 5. It sounds alot but everyone tends to turn their foot on the spot on those ones. One word of warning though, you will have to train the kids not to run on the stairs in their socks!!! We have had no trouble in shoes, but my son has come sliding down on his back quite a few times and was lucky not to break his ankle!! ( or god forbid...his neck for that matter). If not in shoes, bare feet are the way to go! Best of luck and enjoy your lovely new stairs!!

	Posted: 02-04-2010 , 08:09 PM #12
noddytown Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Kilkenny city Posts: 148	stairs Use Matt varnish for the steps . Better than satin even . Sand , dust off and wipe with a damp cloth , begin at the top of the stairs and work your way down . Dulux diamond coat is great , water based (wash out brush in water ) , no fumes and you can walk on it ( in socks) to second coat it after an hour or two , dries in about half an hour . So get stuck in in the morning and they can run upstairs wwhen they get home .

	Posted: 06-04-2010 , 11:23 PM #14
dee1 Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: co. clare Posts: 524	stairs To all who have taken time to respond thank you, I will take all advise on board, and hope to eventually get to post some photos,of my work to date. Again thank you all.

	Posted: 02-05-2010 , 09:33 PM #15
palminnie1 Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Greystones, Co. Wicklow Posts: 367	painting stairs a colour my twin is mad to paint her stairs a quirky colour, the wood is dire anyway, but the house itself could in years to come be sold, if the economy ever gets back on its feet, does doing something as bold as this devalue a small house? she is thinking of purple!!!! and a footprint on each step! palminnie1