On Feb 18, 3:42*pm, Steve Barker wrote:
I'm fixin' to sculpture some stair treads from some rough cut red oak i
practically stole from an Amish auction ( 85 cents per BF). *What i need
to know is what finish i can use that meets the following criteria:

1. not water based poly
2. natural (as clear as oil based can do)
3. not too slick to sock feet

Things that don't matter:

1. odor while applying
2. cost
3. time takes to finish properly

thanks in advance! ,
--
Steve Barker
remove the "not" from my address to email

Here is what we did, partially at the suggestion of an area wood floor
manufacturer:

1) Using pre-made Red Oak treads we sanded to desired surface prior to
installation. and covered them with cardboard as they were installed.
2) Applied one coat of MinWax Natural stain which was recommended by
the floor manufacturer to match the flooring we had previously
purchased.
3) Applied three fairly heavy coats of MinWax Satin Poly with some
sanding between coats.

I know the word MinWax drives some of the folks here to distraction
but, again, this was the floor manufacturer's recommendation. They
use a higher class of finish on their hardwood flooring but this is
the process they recommended for a contractor and homeowner. They
also steered me away from using MinWax floor finish because it was
more costly and provided no real wear advantage. Apparently it does
dry faster. The odor is what you expect from the MinWax products
mentioned. We were able to put two coats of finish on one day and the
third the second day. Then stayed off of it, with shoes, for another
day.

The color we ended up with is a great match for the flooring. We did
the first half of the staircase about 2-1/2 to 3 years ago when we
were finishing the house. We followed up last spring with the bottom
half which is at an angle to the upper part (as part of the basement
finish). after the two year or so time lapse the two stair sections
are perfectly matched, and we have seen no appreciable wear on the
first half.

BTW - Don't varnish you way into the basement or upper floor! (not
that I would) :O)

RonB