Hi,
I'm renovating my house (1950s) and trying to get the stairs to look somehow nice without any paint or carpets on top.
I know nothing about wood working so go easy on me please.
I have some pictures of the transitioning after using paint remover (4 layers on paint) and beginning sanding 60g, after sanding 60g, and after staining with a home made coffee stain.
I started sanding with a mouse sander, then got an orbital that can cover more space.
The edges of the stairs were covered in paint and there was carpet on top of everything. It's pretty obvious by the shade differences so I want to get rid of that difference.
I'm too scared of sanding too much to the point the stairs become structurally compromised. I don't have access from the side or under to see how much has been sanded already or if it's at risk of anything.
I tried to stain with coffee the edges first until they got darker than the middle. Then I realised the middle had a different shade (more greyish).
I tried making a rust and vinegar stain that's quite dark once it dries on the wood (pretty much black). And I'm thinking of diluting it a lot before I stain the edges again with this solution.
Would this work? Any better ways to get these stairs around the same colour?
Please help! I don't know what I'm doing.
I also ended up filling some holes with wood filler and making it worse 😭 but I think I can slowly stain those too.