stair rail
I’ve just removed shellac from the stair railing of our 140 year old house. The wood underneath all that grime is quite beautiful (not sure what it is) and I’d like to bring it back to its glorious past. What should be the next step? Is there a neutralizer I should use? Denton was raving…
I’ve just removed shellac from the stair railing of our 140 year old house. The wood underneath all that grime is quite beautiful (not sure what it is) and I’d like to bring it back to its glorious past.
What should be the next step? Is there a neutralizer I should use?
Denton was raving about Tung oil, Is that the best way to refinish natural wood? Is there an in-between stage I’m missing ?
I’d appreciate any advice, since I wouldn’t like to harm the wood.
Rick is right about going over the railing with denatured alcohol, which is the best solvent for shellac.
We refinished our mahogany railing with (Formby’s) tung oil and it looks great–we did it 7 years ago and every year or two we slap on another coat.
It has a much more natural appearance than varnish or poly and is easy to maintain–and it’s never become tacky or soft to the touch.
pig3, I’ve done a number of pieces. I’m finding that I’m having to redo a few Stickley pieces (from E. J. Audi) because the finish that they use is not oil-resistant. Therefore chairs with arms and my dining table have exhibited problems and EJA doesn’t seem to want to do anything about it.
Now that I have a basement (yes!) I have more room to do these projects and I’ve just re-done the top of my Stickley Keyhole Trestle table, which was pretty heavily messed up. I still have it in pieces in the basement, awaiting the first floor reconstruction, so no photos yet.
Here’s a link to a photo of what was a very beat-up Stickley chair I bought thru an ad on BS and re-finished with Formby’s plus added a new cushion set.
http://www.pbase.com/dentontay/image/102791559
About twenty years ago I bought a gorgeous Victorian oak dining table (albeit with mis-matched chairs) from a friend of mine who was a Verizon repairman in the South Bronx during the heyday of white flight and who grabbed and restored all kinds of antiques he found in basements. It now resides in our summer house and was in use as our main dining table for at least a decade with no issues regarding heat, oil, or spills.
http://www.pbase.com/dentontay/image/102792433
Not saying it’s a miracle product, there are many products out there and I’m sure they work well for many people. This product works well for me on solid (not veneered) hardwoods, especially older hardwoods with a ‘patina’ where only the shellac or varnish has to be stripped. It doesn’t work as well on veneered hardwoods, and it doesn’t look very good on softwoods.
You’re going to need to neutralize the stripper that you used. Most strippers will tell you right on the package what you should use to neutralize it. Then I would follow Steve’s advice and seal and poly. Tung oil (In my opinion) just doesn’t hold up and with that much contact will become tacky to the touch. I would not use any type of vegetable oil, they can go rancid.
The amount of usage/hand traffic the rail will have is relavant. If it is high, oil and wax will eventually look like a waxed surfboard without regular, detailed maintenance. Also, the type of wood also becomes relavant. Density, natural oils, and other unique properties all play a role in how finish is applied, looks and holds up to light, moisture, and daily human contact. Some wood will look beautiful when rubbed by the human hand daily- sans dirt.
Denton, did you do the table yourself?
Hi RG, just for the record, I recommended a specific product (Formbys) that is not just tung oil, but a penetrating tung oil finish. IOW, there is more than just tung oil.
Having said that, I’ve finished dining tables in it and it’s held up beautifully, so I don’t see why it wouldn’t work on a banister.
But certainly, a couple of coats of varnish or poly would also work, cut down the last coat and paste wax.
Tung oil and wax protects wood much better from constant touching than shellac. Shellac is used, when properly applied (French Polish) to give wood a beautiful, natural finish. It is not good for floors or things that are constantly touched. They both (shellac and oil/wax) will require some maintenance. Varnish and urethane require less maintenance, but have a less natural look. Flat finish urethane followed by a 0000 steel wool polish and then wax – has the closest-as-your-going-to-get look and feel of oil and wax without the maintenance. I personally like oil and wax. Even olive oil is beautiful on wood.
Shellac as you know gets darker over time. I’m sure that’s why so much woodwork got painted. Many people just did not think about stripping the old finish in the past. Now that you have stripped the shellac, you should use denatured alcohol to wash off the stripper, it will open the grain of the wood too. I would use some fine steel wool and you’re ready for the finish. I vote for varnish. I think it looks better than polly. Tung oil is pretty but it will not seal the surface so you will be cleaning the rail and adding coats of tung oil as time goes by.
We just brought our own banister back to its original state. After stripping we applied 3 coats of tung oil, then wax (butcher’s wax) to protect the banister. It looks great!
I wouldn’t use Tung oil on a stair banister. You need to protect the wood from tens of thousands of greasy, sweaty, acidic hands so you want a real sealer on it, if not shellac then a varnish or urethane or something like Waterlox.