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My 1970s oak stair treads after 3 months of no finish vs 2 coats of oil
I pulled the carpet off the stairs in my 1925 house in Lansing last spring and the oak underneath was gray and dry, with gaps I could fit a dime in. Three months of sanding and two coats of tung oil later, the grain popped so much my wife thought I'd swapped in new treads. The oil soaked in slow, about 45 minutes per coat on 14 steps, and the color went from dusty tan to warm honey. What's your go to for old oak that's been under carpet for decades?
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holly_thompson985h ago
Tung oil on stairs is a mistake waiting to happen. It sits on the surface and never really cures hard, so every sock, every dog paw, every sock-footed kid drags it right back off. Oak under carpet for decades is dry and thirsty, sure, but that just means it soaks up oil like a sponge and you're redoing it every year. A wiping varnish or a hard wax oil builds a real film that actually takes a beating on a high traffic path. Fourteen steps is nothing, try keeping up with oil on a full staircase with three kids and a lab. Honey color looks great in photos until the first muddy boot.
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