Project Cost: £
Wooden flooring is not the only interior wood we restore. This time our client asked us to restore a beautiful mahogany staircase. This being a centrepiece of entrance hallway, it had to be restored to a very high standard.
This beautiful mahogany staircase has had no work done on it since it was originally fitted. Oil finish on steps and banister became dull and patchy. Our job was to sand everything back to bare wood and seal it again with suitable oil or varnish.
It was absolutely crucial that all of the old finish was completely removed as any remains would show as stains once new coat of oil is applied. That is why we had to take special care to access every corner of the staircase using power tools, hand tools and by sanding by hand.
All metal elements had to be removed for better access. After initial sanding we exposed beautiful bare mahogany wood. All elements were completely sanded down and finer grits of sandpaper were used to prepare smooth surface with no scratches.
As always, our sanding was completely dust free. All power tools were connected to a dust extractor to make sure the job is nice and clean and it does not affect the household.
Once finished with the sanding, we were ready to present our client with two requested finishes.
Our clients wanted us to help them decide between oil finish and varnish. And there is no better wood species than Mahogany to demonstrate the difference. On Mahogany, water based varnish (left) looks very pale and quite similar to what bare wood looks like. Oil on the other hand gives very rich, darker colour. It’s the oil, that gives mahogany wood the colour that most people associate with mahogany. Our clients decided to go ahead with the oil.
The entire staircase was coated with Osmo Polyx hard wax oil. We applied two coats of that and the metal insert was carefully reinstalled.
Restored staircase regained its original beautiful look. Smooth, but natural looking finish actually updates the look over old glossy varnish. The staircase became a key feature of the interior staying very close to its original design but being finished with modern looking and highly durable sealants at the same time.
