This 1930s staircase still had its original dark brown lacquer, which was wearing through and needed to come off. Sanding it back meant working around a lot of fine detail: the spiral work on the newel post, the rosettes, and every spindle. I used a combination of power sanding and hand sanding to strip the old finish without softening any of the original profiles.
Some of the original moldings were missing, so I milled replacements from scratch to match the existing style, including the molding beneath the newel cap and the molding where the stair meets the wall. Where an old wall had been removed, I built a new cap to finish the newel drop cleanly in the same style.
Red oak has a strong pink cast, so the finish is layered: a white precolor to neutralize the pink, then a gray hard wax oil that gives the oak a soft sheen and ties it to the neutral palette of the house. The pine treads have a matching finish.
