I have a friend doing the log work on a log house where I am installing radiant slab heat. He is building a rustic staircase out of thick white pine timbers for stringers and treads. Looks great but he is concerned about the softness of the white pine for treads. Asked me if I knew of anything that could toughen up the pine surface.
My best guess was some sort of penetrating finish that would fill the wood pores. Polymerizing is a term I’ve heard around some finishes but I’m not sure if it would apply here. Guessing a “danish” oil or tung- type product, but thought I’d check with those of you who know more about such things.
Suggestions?
Thanks – Roy
Replies
This is a question that gets asked fairly regularly. I know of no finish that will substantially toughen a soft wood stair tread.
Really hard finishes will flake off the soft wood as it compresses and gets dented from foot traffic, and no finish penetrates nearly far enough to give structural strength to the wood,you end up with a thin shell of hard finish over a soft core.
At this point the only solution is to protect the treads with individual rubber or carpet pads or to install a runner rug.
John W.
If he really wants "rustic" then it should only be sanded and used. I have been asked to make treads look worn so they fit into the rustic look. sealed and finished is not really rustic. In fact natural wood finishes are generaly considered sophisticated.
Mike
Is it too late to consider SYP (Southern Yellow Pine)? It will be much harder and is available in construction grade and sizes.
yeah, it's too late for other options, as the stairs are built. the guy doing it just wondered if I had any suggestions for ways to toughen the wood surface. still thinking that some sort of penetrating finish - an oil - would be best. I'd imagine any film forming finish would tend to crack and crze when the wood inevitably gets dented & dinged.thanks - Roy
an oil finish is soft.To quote Bob Flexner (Understanding Wood Finishing, 2005, p.79)
"MYTH: Watco Danish Oil makes wood 25 percent harder, as the manufacturer claimed for many years.FACT: I don't know how this figure was arrived at, because the product cures much softer than any common furniture wood. How could a soft-curing finish make wood harder?"And you are right, pine will inevitably get dented and dinged.
I agree that a film finish would crack off with wear and dents, but even an oil finish is going to wear off very quickly with the abuse stair treads get. So, any finish at all will pretty quickly remain only on the edges where not worn. This can make a new staircase look aged fast (though that could be a good thing).
If it wuz me, I'd do nothing. If, after some use, they do not like the look, then would be the time to consider 1) a nice long runner rug (these sizes often go cheap on eBay); 2) paint (probably after re-sanding); or 3) overlaying each tread with a denser wood/material.
If a rug is used, it's a good idea to move the rug up or down one tread-width every so often, to even out the wear. Paint can also be easily 'refreshed' as needed. Personally, I like the look of a painted stair after the paint has worn to bare wood in the centers.
(This is like a 'Fram oil filter question' - you can ask before building, or after. After means fewer options.)
Good luck, it should be OK.
Clay
I don't know of any product to make those pine treads harder. Perhaps you could "inlay" a like color wood that will wear better. You could make a simple templet and do them all prior to installing them.
Joe
Is it really saw dust or wood dust?
Polymerizing has to do with the chemical action that bonds the components of the finish material into a dried film. It doesn't do anything to the wood other than stick to it. The penetrating oils do not form a hard film. The finish, or should I say, the wood, is easily scratched. This is because these types of finishes offer little protection against abrasion.
Floor finish manufacturers are the leaders in formulating tough, abrasion resistant coatings. Their purpose isn't necessarily to harden the wood, but to put a hard coating on the wood. There are many products available from high tech radiation cured titanium to simple tung oils. They are also available in waterborne and oil base. All will need to be renewed at some time, especially on stairs. I think some of the harder, DIY applicable finishes are the waterborne products. Many of the better products come in a variety of sheens. A matte or flat finish won't give you the glossy look but will still provide protection while leaving the wood looking natural. Use some good professional products, not something off the HD shelves.
White pine is very soft. The ascending action of feet on a stair is a shuffling action. Stairs take a beating! You also need to keep the stairs from being slippery. The better coatings are slip resistant. It's still hard to beat a carpet runner or other type of tread covering for durability, slip resistance, noise abatement and usability.
http://www.bona.com/?sr=us
http://www.basiccoatings.com/asp/contractors/prod_streetshoe.asp
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
To remedy this problem on existing stairways in private cabins in NM and CO, we have inletted angle-iron on the leading edges. Some of these were heavily textured by large-aggregate sand blasting, one was grooved/extruded aluminum angle (presumably from Machlinburg-Duncan in OKC), and one was with folded galvanized steel ....the last was really ugly for the first year! The sooner it's done, the better looking the flat tread surface will remain in years to come.
John in Texas
thanks for the suggestion. this is actually one of the options the guy who is doing the stairs mentioned to me ...Roy
Hi Roy,
Whatever you do I would strongly avoid a finish that has aluminum oxide in it. A lot of commercial/retail stores with hardwood floors have finishes that contain aluminum oxide. The problem with this is that if, down the road, the stairs need to be refinished (most likely at some point), the aluminum oxide finish must be removed before refinishing, i.e.sanding. It will make a mess!
I would check Basic Coatings as they have a finish that can be resurfaced without sanding. I believe a previous post had the URL for them. Also, check this out:
http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/hardwoodinstaller/aluminum_oxide_finishes.htm
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
Kidderville, NH
Use whatever tool needed to Git 'r Done!
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