How to Refinish Worn Out Stair Treads | Ask This Old House

Ask This Old House carpenter Nathan Gilbert demonstrates how to refinish stair treads. #ThisOldHouse #AskTOH SUBSCRIBE to This Old House: http://bit.ly/SubscribeThisOldHouse Time: 8-10 hours Cost: $100 Skill Level: Moderate Tools: Palm sander [https://amzn.to/2UtMMiP] Hand sander [https://amzn.to/2SB8wXN] Scraper [https://amzn.to/2GZowx5] Vacuum [https://amzn.to/2OyKH1h] Paintbrush [https://amzn.to/397oVcS] Shopping List: 80 grit sandpaper [https://amzn.to/3bh2aFn] 120 grit sandpaper [https://amzn.to/31xZMpq] Polyurethane [https://amzn.to/39efGYm] Steps: 1. Start by sanding down the treads to bare wood with the 80 grit sandpaper. This will require a combination of power sanding and hand sanding to get in the tight corners and around balusters. Nathan suggests using a scraper in the corners if the old finish won’t come off. 2. Vacuum off any dust from sanding between passes. Wipe down the treads with a tack cloth to ensure all the dust was removed. 3. Do a second pass of sanding using 120 grit sandpaper. 4. Vacuum and tack cloth the treads again. 5. Apply a coat of polyurethane to the treads using a paintbrush. If desired, a stain can also be applied to the tread before the polyurethane. 6. Allow the polyurethane to dry for a few hours. Lightly sand the tread and get rid of all the dust. 7. Repeat this process two more times. Do not sand after the third coat of polyurethane. Resources: To refinish stair treads, the old finish will need to be completely sanded off. To do this, Nathan used a variety of tools, including a Rotex 150 multi-mode sander [https://amzn.to/2ureWAp] for the majority of the tread (www.festoolusa.com), a scraper for the corner of the stairs, and a Sanding Mouse Hook and Loop Sanding Block [https://amzn.to/2S3AZpV] for around the balusters and the nosing of the tread. The sanding block can be found online.   To remove the dust, Nathan used a HEPA Dust Extractor [https://amzn.to/2vOmVrA] with a brush attachment by Festool (www.festoolusa.com) and a tack cloth [https://amzn.to/2Smvqlr], which can be found at home centers. To apply a new finish, Nathan used a regular paintbrush and a water based polyurethane [https://amzn.to/2ufEbpx] by Rust-Oleum (https://ift.tt/2pexNYn). About Ask This Old House TV: Homeowners have a virtual truckload of questions for us on smaller projects, and we're ready to answer. Ask This Old House solves the steady stream of home improvement problems faced by our viewers—and we make house calls! Ask This Old House features some familiar faces from This Old House, including Kevin O'Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, and landscape contractor Roger Cook. Follow This Old House and Ask This Old House: Facebook: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseFB Twitter: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseTwitter http://bit.ly/AskTOHTwitter Pinterest: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHousePinterest Instagram: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseIG Tumblr: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseTumblr Keywords: This Old House, Ask This Old House, DIY, Home Improvement, DIY Ideas, Renovation, Renovation Ideas, How To Fix, How To Install, How To Build, Nathan Gilbert, stairs, treads, Kevin O’Connor, refinish Watch the full episode: https://ift.tt/2GJYwpo How to Refinish Worn Out Stair Treads | Ask This Old House https://www.youtube.com/user/thisoldhouse/