Staircase & Banister Refinishing in Fort Worth, TX

Stair treads are a floor, and they need a floor finish. Wall or trim enamel on a tread wears through in weeks under shoes and socks. For stained treads, we sand to bare wood, apply stain, and finish with three coats of a floor-grade polyurethane, water-based for low odor and clarity or oil-modified for a warmer amber tone. For painted treads, we use a porch and floor enamel and often add a clear floor coat over the top. Satin is the most popular sheen, since gloss is slippery and shows every scratch. Risers, skirt boards and stringers don't take foot traffic, so they get a durable trim enamel that's easier to keep clean.

Many 1990s and 2000s Fort Worth homes have red oak handrails and newel posts finished in a golden or honey stain with an oil-based clear coat. Over twenty years that finish ambers further, which is why so many rails now look orange next to updated floors. Simply staining over the top won't work, because stain can't soak through existing finish. We strip or sand the rail to bare wood, using hand sanding and card scrapers on curves and fittings, then apply a new stain such as a dark walnut or ebony and seal with a durable clear finish. A full strip and stain takes more time than painting, but it keeps the grain visible. Painting the handrail black or dark bronze is a quicker alternative some homeowners choose.

Wood balusters, often called spindles, are the most time-consuming part of a staircase. Each one has turned details where drips collect. We clean them, scuff sand with a sanding sponge, spot prime any bare wood and brush each spindle top to bottom, checking the backside for runs before moving on. Spraying is faster but needs extensive masking of walls, rails and floors, so we only spray when the whole stair area can be sealed off. Iron balusters are cleaned, degreased and coated with a direct-to-metal paint. If a few are loose in their shoes, we secure them before painting.

• Wood spindles: scuff, spot prime, brush two enamel coats
• Iron balusters: degrease and direct-to-metal finish
• Loose balusters secured before any paint goes on
• Newel posts and caps finished to match the rail

Most families can't go without stairs for three days. We finish treads in an alternating pattern, every other step one day and the rest the next, so you can still go up and down carefully by stepping on dry treads. Bedrooms upstairs stay reachable. When carpet is coming off the stairs, we pull tack strips and staples and inspect the treads underneath, since many builder stairs have pine or MDF treads meant to be carpeted. Those may need new oak tread caps before they can be stained.

Sanding a staircase puts dust right into the center of the house, where it can travel to every floor. We hang plastic barriers at the top and bottom, use sanders connected to HEPA vacuums, and wipe down with a microfiber cloth between coats. Dust nibs in a clear coat look like grit and feel rough under bare feet, so we sand lightly with 320 grit between coats and vacuum before each pass.