restore finish of hardwood stairs

[Unregistered-chrisvp]

The house we just bought is 1 year old and was 99% complete when we bought it. The hardwood stair treads had 1 coat of poly. There was some overspray on them from when the walls and ceilings were spray painted.

I have used “Oops” to remove the overspray and any dirt smudges and now I want to re-poly them.

However, there are some lighter spots on them and I think they need to be re-stained or else when I poly them, I am afraid the new finish will be uneven.

How can I refinish and get a consistent color without having to sand them down first? Is there a product or method that I can use to get an even finish?

[tomh]

You cannot stain through a polyurethane or lacquer finish without stripping or sanding. You may be able to even the color by applying a product like Minwax wood finish which is a stain and polyurethane mixture. Don’t expect dramatic color changes, but it may even things out. Try it on a a less conspicuous area first if possible. The variation in color may be due to the wood, or uneven application of stain, and may be noticable only to you. Another coat of clear urethane may be sufficient to hide the variation.

Be sure to sand lightly using a 120+ paper and clean with solvent to promote adhesion and smooth final finish.

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