The Staircase Makeover Part 3.....Staining, Staining, and More Staining

So glad you all are here for another installment of the ongoing saga staircase makeover project.  For those of you that may have missed the first few "episodes" you can check out Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Today we are talking about staining.  Just curious....have any of you ever tried to stain anything?  If you have, then you will probably laugh as I detail our struggle to get these stairs stained.  If you haven't, then hopefully you may learn something.  :)

First, let me say that I have a whole new appreciation for people who are skilled in staining and/or renovating furniture.  Duh!  No wonder it cost so much to get this type of work done....it's not easy!!

Perhaps the first lesson we learned is that the color shown in the stores for each stain are not really very representative of how the stain will look.  Some are more accurate than others, but the bottom line is that there are a lot of variables to consider (number of coats of stain, drying time, wood used, etc, etc)......SO.....YOU MUST do some trial runs before you try and stain your actual object.

For example.....below is a picture of the exact same stains used on two different types of wood.  The top wood is oak and the bottom is pine....

The grain of the wood and the way the wood accepts the stain makes a big difference in the final look....so again....trial runs are a MUST!!

Second lesson....achieving a rich dark espresso stain (which is what we wanted) can be complicated.  We tried just about every stain we could find.  We searched the internet for ideas, we drove across Houston to an obscure little place to get a new type of stain, we played with drying times/number of coats, and the hubs even tried to make his own stain (first attempt he just smelled up the whole house by cooking vinegar on the stove (ugh - gag!).......but his second attempt was actually really good......he's an engineer......so getting the chance to mix up some stuff was right up his alley).

Here is a to show you all the options we looked at.....

I KNOW.....ridiculous right???  Did I mention that I can tend to be a little crazy perfectionist?  I can't help it....once I have a vision in mind.....it just has to be.....end of story......yes.......feel free to send my hubs condolences......I can be a little hard to handle at times......thank goodness he loves me.....and truth be told he is a little crazy perfectionist too!!

Here are a few pics up close just in case you might get a wild idea that you want to stain something yourself....

The ones with India in the title are the ones the hubs mixed up, the others are minwax, except for the ones labeled Varathane or General Finish ......I'm only showing the stain on Oak wood, but have pics for some on pine too if anyone is interested....



AND THE WINNER IS......General Finish Espresso Stain.......we ended up just wiping the stain on and then immediately wiping it off.  We loved it....and it was water based......BONUS.....no stinkiness!!

Again, be sure to do a practice run with your stain.....we found that the temperature and humidity REALLY affected how dark the stain got and how quickly it dried.  WE MESSED UP A LOT at the beginning.  The good news is that you can always re-sand and try again, but we quickly got sick of having to do that....ugh!! 

Another important note....when you wipe off your stain....be sure to wipe in one fluid motion....we found it you stop in the middle of the board, then it will often leave a line....and it doesn't look good!!  We found it easiest if one of us wiped on the stain and the other wiped off the stain.

SOOOOO....
I bet your thinking....finally....now.....we.....will....get.....to.....see....these....finished....stairs.....

Well.....not...just...yet....

There is one more thing that must be done.....(insert your scariest dun...dun....dun....music).....the banisters!!

So....here is a picture of these lovelies after they were partially sanded down....

Seriously....if there were one part of this project that I would probably hire out if I had to do this again....it would be the sanding/staining of the banisters.  It was HARD work!!  The sanding goes on and on and on and on and on.....I am not kidding....you can't ever quite get everything out of every little crack and crevice.  UGH!!! 

So......here is my BIG SECRET.....I got sick of sanding, so I just quit....and started staining....and the stain was dark.....SO.....I can't believe I'm telling ya'll this.....I just filled in the not so great parts (places where the stain wouldn't take) with a sharpie marker!  Yep....that's right....I used a sharpie marker on these baby's!!  AND it looks really great....even up close....I PROMISE!!  It just looks like wood grain.  SO.....HA!  It did take a little "practicing" to get it to look good, but it really wasn't that hard.  Plus.....who doesn't love Sharpie makers.....I use them for everything.....and they smell SO good!!  LOL!!

So here are the after pics of the banister (I promise I don't normally let my baby play on the stairs)....

OH YEAH BABY!!  This project is coming together!!  I love how the banisters turned out.....I was pretty worried during the process, BUT in the end it was SO worth it!

AND I promise.....the next post on the stairs will be the finale and you will get to see the finished staircase!!

Until next time.....

XOXO,
Kristal