Advice much appreciated on staircase 'restoration'

[Alexhenshaw]

so on my DIY adventures I unearthed this wooden staircase under the carpet. I have taken a liking to it so have decided to try and sand it down so it all looks similar before I oil the wood. It's taking a lifetime by hand and is an absolute struggle to get the outter bits the same as the core. Any suggestions on the best way of achieving my goals here ? Would wood staining/ oiling cover much of the difference in colour ? Is a power sander going to be a great help ? Any pointers/ advice is very much appreciated . Thank you so much for your time !

 

[rules&rulers]

Thats a soul destroying job, Have previously used paint stripper to get the majority of paint off,then tidy up with an edge sander http://www.jewson.co.uk/tool-hire/power-tools/sanders/products/5710/floor-edge-sander/

With care you should be able to blend in the bare wood and the stripped wood with the edge sander. It still takes a lot of doing but worth it.
Personally i would re carpet just for noise reasons.
Take care with an edge sander on the risers.

Good luck.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Is it just those 4 treads, no turns?

If so and you want a wooden one, rip it out and replace it. You could probably have made one yourself in the time you've spent sanding so far.

 

[Alexhenshaw]

There's 8 - 10 more steps and 2 little landings all with the same paint style attached.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Oh well. You know how long it will take you to finish the rest, and even then I'm not sure you'd ever be able to get rid of the stripe. If you're determined to persevere I'd advise trying ways to get the treads you've cleaned so far to a uniform colour, to see if it can be done.

But in your shoes I'd be considering a whole new staircase and floors, or cladding, or carpet.

 

[Chud]

Is a power sander going to be a great help ?

Are you hand sanding it??

In short yes a power sander is going to take a lot of the grunt out of it (still a git of a job though!)

You probably want to start with a belt sander with a coarse grit (60 grit?) to clean off all the old crud and get the colour more uniform - you'll need a detail sander for the edges. Once cleaned up work over it with a random orbit sander through the grits - starting at 80 and work up to ~180 or 240 grit (may depend on the oil etc you want to use on it after sanding as to what grit you finish on - Osmo Polyx is good stuff).

 

[Alexhenshaw]

I am indeed hand sanding ... I've got a lot of spare time and music on my hands currently but it's still a bit depressing . If I could only buy one sort of sander which would be best ? My ultimate plan is to oil/stain shade darker than the middle to hopefully mask any difference. I'm fortunate not to have a time frame or anybody for this work to interfere.

 

[Tigger90]

How about one of these?

http://www.bahco.com/en/bahco-world/article-archive/bahco-ergo-paint-scraper-22619/

I used this to scrap all the paint of banisters and skirting boards before I then Osmo oiled them

 

[Chud]

I am indeed hand sanding ... I've got a lot of spare time and music on my hands currently but it's still a bit depressing . If I could only buy one sort of sander which would be best ? My ultimate plan is to oil/stain shade darker than the middle to hopefully mask any difference. I'm fortunate not to have a time frame or anybody for this work to interfere.

You'd be better off using a sander to hog off enough enough material to get the wood to a uniform colour (it won't take much). Alternatively you could try a card scraper - again hard work but might be better than sanding?

 

[foxhole]

Have you considered the dangers of an uncarpeted stair?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Have you considered that there are millions of uncarpeted stairs in the world?

 

[foxhole]

Have you considered that there are millions of uncarpeted stairs in the world?

and millions of accidents on them.
Just in the UK over 4000 falls by children on stairs.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Have you considered whether the OP has children in the house?

Are you lobbying your MP or other relevant people/bodies to have carpets on stairs made mandatory by law?

Over what period were those 4000 falls, and were they all proven to be due to lack of carpets? Do you have figures for how many falls were occasioned by ill fitting or damaged carpets?

Over the same period, what are the figures for children banging their heads on furniture?

 

[foxhole]

Have you considered whether the OP has children in the house?

Are you lobbying your MP or other relevant people/bodies to have carpets on stairs made mandatory by law?

Over what period were those 4000 falls, and were they all proven to be due to lack of carpets? Do you have figures for how many falls were occasioned by ill fitting or damaged carpets?

Over the same period, what are the figures for children banging their heads on furniture?

Irrelevant , common sense , polished step is slippery , slippery stairs is dangerous.

 

[Doggit]

If you want just one type of sander, then I'd go for a palm sander; start with 40 grade, and work up to 180, but I wouldn't bother going any higher as it's just stairs, and I might even stop at 120 grade.

A detail sander would be good for the corners and edges, but as you seem to be managing that by hand, then it would be a luxury, rather than a ncessity.