Repairing Worn Finish on Interior Wooden Steps

[dawntreader]

We need to repair the worn varnished edges on our B37 steps. The problem is the wood finish appears to have been coloured in a light oak undercoat (?) over darker wood before being varnished and a tinted varnish does not provide adequate depth of colour cover to hide the marks. Does anyone know what this 'undercoat' is and where it can be sourced?

[Anthony]

I have recoated interior timber in the companionway ( which had suffered a bit of sun damage) by simply a light sanding to key the surface (400 grit or higher) then clean off any oil or wax residue with methylated spirits ( obvious cautionary note here... no naked flames nearby) and then applied two coats of ALKATHANE, a hard wearing floor lacquer marketed by Feast and Watson, a polyurethane brand run in Australia by Dulux paints. It is a high shine 'wet look' product for timber floors and has worked well for me. I just applied with a soft brush and the product is very forgiving as the brush strokes flatten out nicely. Obviously on vertical surfaces it is better to do 2 light coats than one heavy one to avoid sagging.
Best of luck!

[Odysseus]

I have also refurbished my steps and companionway because of sun, UV fading.

Used about 400 grit paper to key surfaces,  then a wood stain of the appropriate colour,  to bring it back to original,  then a satin finish floor varnish, put on with foam blocks cut from a sheet used as a paint  brush, no lines, perfectly finished.

Shown this method by boat builder on the Hamble river.

Hope this helps.

Odysseus.

[dawntreader]

Thanks for both above replies.

The key issue here is the darker, under-wood is partially exposed and needs to be re-coated. I will look at the wood stain option to hide this and then varnish as suggested.

Will post update once done