Stripping and staining this weekend...ooh lala!

10/18/2015 09:46:04 AM · #26

Originally posted by snaffles:

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Originally posted by snaffles:
I assume you're talking ethyl alcohol? Isn't that just as nasty as mineral spirits?

It's what's in beer, wine, distilled spirits, gasoline blends ... what you get when you let yeast digest sugar ...

But if it's a volatile compound like mineral spirits I want nothing to do with it.

And to think, I used to like you. ;-)

As Paul said, its just alcohol. You can forego it's use, but you're risking an uneven finish. Mostly you should be able to get away without it, but you're taking a small risk.

10/18/2015 09:47:56 AM · #27

Originally posted by snaffles:

Also is the sealant toxic at all?

Strongly depends on how much of it you plan to eat. ;-)

Ja-9

Nikon D750

10/18/2015 09:58:46 AM · #28

Originally posted by snaffles:

Originally posted by Ja-9:

Originally posted by snaffles:
I gots me a belt sander, Cory, and I know how to use it...though the vibratory sander sounds like fun, too ;-) I know I'll have to be careful with it and if the belt does get to be too much then I can always go with ye olde sanding block and elbow grease.

good for corners and edges...why not go elnatural with the stairs n just seal them...that's what we have on our wood floors. Never have stained them but have re-finished a couple times now.

Not a bad idea re just sealing them...but then I'll have glow-in-the-dark stairs, they're pine so are sanding up very very light! Also is the sealant toxic at all?

there is an odor, how toxic???? And the pine will change color over time (get more golden). We have "White Oak" which is very "red/yellow"...especially after it's been done for awhile.

10/18/2015 10:57:03 AM · #29

No fear,

Cory, I am still a volatile compound...just ask my kid sister ;-) But considering the uphill battles I am facing with ventilation and heat, I am simply not going to risk using something toxic.

And yes, Janine, it seems that most sealants are also quite toxic. Maybe not volatile but still if there's a nasty chemical stench and they tell you to use it only in a well-ventilated area, there is a very good reason why.

I'll check out ethyl alcohol when I run into town today, but if I get any of those 'use only in a well-ventilated area with no live flame so you freeze your ass off while this product takes 20 hours to dry'....fuhgeddaboutit. I'd rather risk an uneven finish - and besides, there are lots of inconsistencies in the wood itself anyway - than risk poisoning me or my cats.

Ja-9

Nikon D750

10/18/2015 11:16:43 AM · #30

How about doing the prep n waiting until spring to seal?

Tiny

Apple iPad mini 4

10/18/2015 11:30:58 AM · #31

good lord

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM

10/18/2015 02:33:53 PM · #32

Originally posted by Ja-9:

How about doing the prep n waiting until spring to seal?

But wouldn't I just have to restain them again? My severe aversion to nasty chemicals is just as pronounced in the spring as the fall :-)

Went to my local Home Hardware to buy one of those little scrapers for corners where the vib can't reach. The store owner was there so I explained what I was doing and asked about using methyl alcohol. He told me that that is in fact even MORE volatile than mineral spirits. So I asked about using white vinegar and he agreed that it would work just fine for wiping the stairs down with prior to staining.

ETA: oh yeah how to keep the damn safety glasses from fogging up? Maybe I just breathe a lot or have really sweaty eyeballs, but as soon as I put em on I can't see. Bad enough with a dust mask clamped over my face and hearing protection on.

Message edited by author 2015-10-18 14:36:13.

RayEthier

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

10/18/2015 02:44:58 PM · #33

Originally posted by snaffles:

ETA: oh yeah how to keep the damn safety glasses from fogging up? Maybe I just breathe a lot or have really sweaty eyeballs, but as soon as I put em on I can't see.

Wash them down with dish soap...that should solve your problem.

Ray

10/18/2015 02:46:05 PM · #34

Originally posted by RayEthier:

Originally posted by snaffles:

ETA: oh yeah how to keep the damn safety glasses from fogging up? Maybe I just breathe a lot or have really sweaty eyeballs, but as soon as I put em on I can't see.

Wash them down with dish soap...that should solve your problem.

Ray

My eyeballs? Oh, OK.....8-/

ETA: Jeb, is this the sander you meant? Looks like I could also use it for ironing ;-)

Message edited by author 2015-10-18 14:47:15.

Ja-9

Nikon D750

10/18/2015 07:00:34 PM · #35

Originally posted by snaffles:

Originally posted by Ja-9:
How about doing the prep n waiting until spring to seal?

But wouldn't I just have to restain them again? My severe aversion to nasty chemicals is just as pronounced in the spring as the fall :-)

just thought you could open things up better for the ventilation???

10/18/2015 08:03:35 PM · #36

Vinegar? WTF is that guy smoking? What exactly will vinegar do to even out the oils on the surface of the wood?

If you want to avoid it all together, dish soap and water is fine, certainly better than vinegar... Ammonia should work as well, but it might tend to discolor the wood, so I'd try that on a bit of wood that's not attached to the floor.. Or hell, since you're using water based stain, I expect that some dish-soap in that mix would probably be fine.. Although, again, I'd test it on another piece of spare pine first.. The follow that up with old-fashioned wax. Not going to get any less toxic than that. Force the wax in deep with heat. I'd probably consider a hair-dryer and a bit of cardboard to polish.

Also, note that alcohol, while technically toxic, is something we drink willingly, even eagerly, so it's really of no concern for ingestion reasons. The concern is explosion. So if you air it out for a good hour, that'll remove most of the concern, and just a gentle breeze after that is enough to keep you safe.

Message edited by author 2015-10-18 20:08:34.

10/18/2015 11:04:31 PM · #37

Cory and

Ja-9...thanks both for your input and concern, but my house truly sucks for ventilation, especially in the stairway. Let me explain. My house is basically a large shoebox. 40ftx20ft on the main floor, with the staircase leading up to the bedrooms. There is a large round decorative bulls-eye window at the top of the stairs but it does not open. So any air vented upstairs would have to be vented out via the skylights in the bedrooms and via the bathroom fan. The bathroom does not have a window.

Downstairs I am spoiled rotten for windows and they all open, but all I would get in the best scenario is a cross-breeze, with very little of it going up the stairs to vent it out. And from October to May I heat the house primarily with a woodstove and so must be very aware of volatile compounds.

Cory...I know from using vinegar mixed in with my cleaning solution, which is water-based, that it helps tremendously with cutting through oily and greasy buildups. I am not dousing the stairs in vinegar and leaving it to soak in, esp as my stairs are pine. I am only misting them with lightly the vinegar and wiping them almost immediately afterwards.

If the stairs REALLY need to have the oils on the wood's surface evened out...well...these stairs were put in in the early 90s. It isn't a brand-new staircase.

I have thought about dish soap and water as viable solution too but how to adequately rinse out the residue? And no thanks to the ammonia on the fumes/ventilation thing yet again. I may be able to find some floor wax.

Or maybe I'll just do what a friend suggested: go down to Ogdensburg, find an Amish man and ask him what he would use. I was inside an Amish house once and it was perhaps the quietest, and best-built, house I have ever been in, bar none. The Amish know a few things, may as well learn from people who have been doing things the same way (or as close to as their community will allow them) since the 1700s.

10/19/2015 08:03:46 AM · #38

I would take an Amish craftsman's advice over my own any day!

10/19/2015 08:10:05 AM · #39

Originally posted by Cory:

I would take an Amish craftsman's advice over my own any day!

Well, I have the day off, it's a nice sunny day, O'burg and Heuvelton in particular are just across the border which is 30 min away...so after I go and vote I may as well just keep driving and see if I can find an Amish carpenter or woodworking shop, unless I can find the info online.

Tiny

Apple iPad mini 4

10/19/2015 01:15:52 PM · #40

It could have been easier to move ;)

10/19/2015 02:17:39 PM · #41

Originally posted by Tiny:

It could have been easier to move ;)

You're so silly! :-)

Well, almost got stair tread #4 completely sanded. Stopped using the belt sander cause it's just too cumbersome to use on stair treads, so found some really heavy 40 grit sheets to use with the vib and they do a pretty good job. Still using a light mist of vinegar to wipe down the treads though before staining will probably go the dishsoap/water route.

I have a gallon of homemade stain all set to go, sitting waiting patiently. Will probably use a space heater when I do get around to staining (which I DO plan to get done all in one day) just to help with the drying. About to go check email and see if there's any word from one Roger Yoder who sells Amish furniture re sealants.

10/19/2015 06:12:37 PM · #42

Finally done for the day. Just sneezed and some splinters flew out, and my hair...I knew I was forgetting something! Now I look like I have really fine beige dandruff :-)

10/25/2015 12:15:15 PM · #43

Ok so now I'm going almost 100% chemical free. Will be using low-VOC water-based varathane to seal the stairs. Apparently the Amish use some stuff called conversion varnish(?) which sounds pretty nasty. So much for thinking that they might be using something like beeswax-based finish.

So almost completely done the sanding, including the detail stuff. And not a moment too soon! It's interfering with my photography and am sick of super-fine sawdust all over the damn place, even with plastic sheets taped up to keep stuff enclosed. Oh and 40-grit aluminum oxide sandpaper is a godsend.

Pentax DA 18-135mm F3.5-5.6ED AL [IF] WR DC

10/29/2015 07:54:24 AM · #44

Well it's taken more than a weekend, but my stairs are looking pretty damned good. Just need to lightly sand the varnish, put another one down, let it dry, remove the painters tape and DONE!

Only regret is that I didn't take a pic of the whole staircase before I started work, but did get pics as I sanded and applied the stain (used only 2l of stain for 4 layers). Also using a lot less varnish than I thought I would, but no complaints there :-)

pixelpig

Sony Alpha a55

Sony DT 1.8/50mm SAM

10/29/2015 09:12:17 AM · #45

I've been following this story with great admiration. Congratulations! Now, where are the pix?!

tnun

Ricoh GR III

10/29/2015 12:39:26 PM · #46

I'm waiting for the book.

10/29/2015 05:10:51 PM · #47

The pics they are a-comin...been a really busy day. Watch this space.

Sony DT 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical ED Zoom Lens for Sony Alpha

10/29/2015 07:06:53 PM · #48

Ok finally found some free time. Here's the story in words:

I sanded down the stairs with 40-grit aluminum oxide, on a vibratory sander, to get the cruddy old beat-up crap finish off my poor abused stairs, which in fact are spruce and not pine as first thought. Anyway here's how it looked with only three left to go. You can guess what it looked like with the whole flight in a similar state.

Then I made a batch of stain using orange pekoe tea and carefully counted drops of food colouring. This is a 1-gallon jug after applying 4 coats to the stairs.

Then began the staining. First layer:

Second layer:

Third layer:

Fourth layer:

Then 3 coats of water-based varathane clear varnish:

And what a difference! Apart from having a fan going to blow the very mild fumes from the varnish up the stairs to where my bathroom fun sucked them out, and taping up plastic to contain sawdust, fumes and keep the kittehs off during the numerous drying processes (I think they now think their names are Stay!Good girl and No!NO!NOOOOOO!) I am VERY happy with my staircase. Sure, maybe a few small areas need a minor touch-up with the varnish cause I was getting really fed up with scuffing/wiping/re-applying stain, but that can wait a few days.

Message edited by author 2015-10-29 19:12:39.

nam

Sony DSLR-A580

10/29/2015 11:05:34 PM · #49

I'm beyond impressed. Beautiful!