Goodbye 90s Staircase: Part Two
For week 5 of the One Room Challenge, I spent even more time on the staircase. Phew. This project is a beast. Am I done yet? No way. But, I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And, it’s not covered in orange stain! (See Part One of this project.)
The Prep Work
It’s one thing to sand a project in the garage. It’s a whole different story when sanding IN THE HOUSE. I tried to contain the dust by taping up plastic sheets and closing the doors. We just lived in dust for a good number of days. I had my shop vac on hand to clean up as I went, especially since the staircase can’t be avoided. I didn’t want piles of dust being tracked everywhere.
Sanding, Sanding…and More Sanding.
I used an 80 grit sandpaper with three different sanders. I started out with the palm sander, just going straight across each stair.
Then, I used the orbital sander on each step, getting an even better finish, but also sanding against the edges. Finally, I sanded the corner detailing with a mouse sander.
Priming the Risers
Part of the plan is for the risers, stringers and other trim work to be painted white. They *usually* recommend that painting is done after the stairs are stained. I think this is probably due to the worry of getting edges painted after all of that work. But, I had reasons for wanting to prime the risers.
There are these tiny little staple holes that I want to fill, and by painting them, they are much easier to see.
On the risers and trim, I’m just filling them, waiting for the fill to dry, and then sanding.
Bleaching the Stairs
For the next step in the process, I attempted to remove some of the red out of the red oak stairs. I’ve used wood bleach before–with success!
The only problem with this is the application. When I did it before, it was outside, and I wasn’t worried about the bleach getting anywhere. Now, I don’t really want to splash up bleach. So, instead of doing the application with a scrub brush, I used the backside of a kitchen sponge.
How did it turn out? You’re just going to have to check back in for the update! Have a great week, friends!
