7 Easy Steps to Transform Oak Staircase

Do you have a red oak staircase? Does it look blah. Want to transform it into something striking? If so, you gotta check this out! Recently I refinished a 1990's oak staircase. It was much easier than anticipated, looks even better than hoped for and...this was with having to work around white carpet too. By the time you finish reading this post and watch a short video, you will have the confidence to take on this project and transform a blah oak staircase into something amazing and beautiful.

Is Refinishing a Staircase Too Daunting?

Projects like this can be daunting, but I've broken it down into just 7 easy steps and made a video to help give additional insight. Surprisingly, the hardest part of the whole project was the taping. Seriously, if you can lay down a piece of adhesive tape in a straight line and around a curve, you can refinish and transform an old oak staircase. Oh, and did I mention...the whole project cost less than $70!

Still not convinced, practice staining and sealing on an old piece of oak furniture or even a scrap piece of oak. This, in my opinion, is a great DIY home project and you don't want to miss out. It costs little, yet updates a home and in an area that arguably has the biggest impact when friends and family come to visit.

watch project video      download materials list      check out other projects

Let's Get Started, Let's Transform A Staircase

So, let's get started and jumping right in. Below is a list of materials you'll need for for this project along with some links on where you can purchase.

A little side note, best deal for foam brushes I've found is at your local Joann's, use coupons. The latex free gloves and paper/shop towels from Menards are my favs as well as the blue painter's tape and tack cloths from home depot. When it comes to the stain and sealer however, they shouldn't be interchanged for any others brands or colors. These two products are highly recommended by painting professionals and have phenomenal reputations for being the best!

MATERIALS LIST FOR THIS PROJECT (printable version below)

Download Printable Materials List for this project

STEP 1 - Clean Oak Staircase

Fill small pail with warm water and a couple of squirts of Dawn liquid soap mixed in. Submerge a little towel with some nap to it in the warm soapy water, then ring it out a bit to avoid making a mess. With soapy rag, briskly wash all the wood to be refinished. Remove any oils or dirt. Give special attention to the hand rails and top of newels (the large posts) as they typically are the dirtiest.

STEP 2 - Sand Oak Staircase

Lightly hand sand the rails, newels and stairs with 220 grit sandpaper. Below is a real quick video showing how lightly to sand the old oak wood. Always sand in direction of the grain. Except of course where that's not possible. For molding and tight corners a soft sanding block works well.

Don't worry about sanding off the old finish, just roughing it up is good for the gel stain we'll be using. I found out the hard way, that when staining our back stairs a light sanding is needed before applying gel stain in order to achieve a more even, uniform color.

Once everything is sanded, wipe clean with damp rags. Let dry.

Important Note: Sand wood in direction of grain.

quick video to show how  lightly to sand before applying gel stain

STEP 3 - Apply Painter's Tape

Apply blue painter's tape to the edges of everything not to be stained. Apply the tape as close to the edges of the wood as possible, but don't cover areas that are to be stained. If you are staining a staircase with carpet, you may want to check how I wrapped the edges with painter's tape. Wrapping carpet edges allowed for staining of the stair tread by gently lifting the carpet edges.

It's important to take your time taping, be precise. A putty knife can help in cutting clean tape edges by placing it firmly down and pulling the tape off at an angle. Honestly, this took me nearly a whole day, but was way worth it. I only had a couple of areas that needed touching up. More on how to touch-up below.

STEP 4 - Apply 1st Coat of Gel Stain to Oak Staircase

Place tarps and plastic to protect floors and any other areas that need to be protected. Open nearby doors, windows and turn on fans to help ventilate. As you progress with staining, wipe immediate area with tack cloth. The area you stain should be free from dust and particles. Dip a small foam brush into about an inch of gel stain. The brush should be loaded with stain, but not dripping.  Then in the direction of the wood grain, lightly paint on the stain using steady even strokes. Try to apply evenly.

Don't worry about completely covering the wood with the 1st coat and do not wipe off the stain. Depending on how thick the stain is applied it will take 24 to 48 hours to dry. It's ready for second coat when it is no longer tacky to the touch.

To stain under the carpet, carefully lift it just enough to get the foam brush under a an inch or two. Probably not a good idea to use a fully loaded foam brush when staining close to or under the carpet. Do these areas with the foam brush either scraped off on inside of can of stain or by applying several strokes on an open area of a stair tread.

Important Notes: When staining, use loaded foam brush, light paint strokes and apply evenly. However, when staining areas near or under carpet, empty foam brush a little by either scraping on inside edge of stain can or bushing an open area like a stair tread. The thing is, you wan't to be careful not to allow excess stain to seep past the tape. 

Watch video for closer look at how this project was done.

STEP 5 - Apply 2nd Coat of Gel Stain to Oak Staircase

Applying the second coat of gel stain is pretty much the same as the first. Except, particular attention should be made to making the color of the whole staircase uniform. Some areas will need more stain than others. So, wipe dust and other particles off with tack cloth. Then apply gel stain by lightly painting on the stain using steady even strokes in the direction of the wood grain. Do not wipe off stain, allow to dry instead. And be sure to ventilate the room by opening exterior door and windows.

I know it'll be tempting to take off the tape at this time, but don't do it. Be patient. (That was perhaps the hardest part for me. LOL)

Again, allow to dry 24 to 48 hours or until it's no longer tacky to the touch before applying sealer.

Another Important Note: If somehow, dust or other particles attached themselves to the stain a very, light sanding with fine steel wool on the areas affected should be done before applying 2nd coat of gel stain. Take care not to remove 1st coat of stain. Otherwise, obtaining uniform color on the staircase may become a little more difficult and require additional coat of gel stain in just those areas.

 

STEP 6 - Apply Sealer to Oak Staircase

Take time and carefully wipe down everything with a tack cloth. Again, removing any dust or particles. Pour some sealer into a plastic lined painter's cup. A disposable plastic bowl like the kind used for restaurant take-out will work too. Just as long as the can of sealer isn't opened longer than necessary. Open doors and windows to ventilate when applying sealer.

Apply sealer with either small or medium foam brushes.  I used medium sized brushes on the rails and smaller foam brushes for everything else. The sealer seams to wear down the foam brushes rather quickly. So, you may need a couple for each coat of sealer.

Apply 2 - 3 coats of sealer allowing each coat to dry 24 hours.

STEP 7 - Remove Tape & Touch-up

After final coat of sealer has dried, carefully remove tape. A small putty knife and utility knife are helpful for removing tape in tight areas and lightly scoring edges to prevent pulling up any paint. Hint: make a ball with the tape as you remove it by sticking one piece on to another and so forth to avoid it sticking to the plastic tarps and such.

Now, with a critical eye check for any areas that were missed due to obstruction of tape, or areas where the stain isn't dark enough. I found a few streaks that seemed to appear on the rails when the sun was shining directly on them. So, take a close look when the sun is it's fullest or when it shines directly on the staircase.

To touch-up these areas, the should be quite small, apply a little stain with a fine tip artist's paint brush. Make note of areas touched-up. Allow stain to dry, then apply a light coat or two of sealer. The stain and sealer seem to dry quicker when only doing small areas.

Note: Using gel stain allows for touch-ups on top of sealer. Gotta love gel stain!

A Coat of Paint for Spindles

A couple of years ago when I started doing a whole house renovation/update, I changed the house trim color from BM simply white, to Behr Irish Mist. It's a softer white and works well with the softer paint palate used throughout. Therefore, I had to paint the spindles too. It was a bit tedious but, all in all totally worth it.

I even used the Irish Mist on our kitchen cabinets. You can see them here. What do you think?

Oak Staircase Refinished; Staircase Transformed

Staining our front stairs made a huge difference in our home. It completely transformed the old oak staircase. Looking back, I have to laugh a little about how intimidating this project had become. Sure it took some time, it took me a week. However, that was mostly due to necessary dry times. It really was easy work, thus the title 7 Easy Steps to Transform Oak Staircase.

Did you use these 7 easy steps to transform your oak staircase? Have you used this gel stain? If so, would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below!