Outdoor Projects

Staining Wood Handrails Part Deux

After recapping my week-long adventure in Utah, I got inspired to tackle one of my own curb appeal projects.

And this is one of those maintenance projects you have to do as a homeowner, but you’d rather not. Especially not twice in 2.5 years!

When we remodeled my house in 2012, the handrails were brand new and stained to match my new front door.

vinyl siding house with white handrail spindles and stained handrail tops on front porch

But I guess with the direction my house is facing, the sun was too much and the handrails needed to be re-stained and varnished about a year later. So I sanded, stained, and resealed them.

And here I am again 1.5 years later with the same problem!

Peeling stained wood handrails

Something’s got to give! So as soon as the weather cooled down here (since you shouldn’t stain when it’s really hot so the stain doesn’t dry too fast), I set out to correct this problem again!

pumpkin in foreground with peeling, crackling stained handrails behind

They say the definition of insanity is doing something over and over and expecting different results. So in order to prevent myself from going insane and repeating the same process a year down the road, I mixed up my strategy in repairing the handrails this time around.

stained handrails peeling next to brick steps and hibiscus plant

Before I could apply a fresh coat of stain, I had to sand all of the peeling pieces off.

sander sitting on top of stained wood handrails

Once the peeling was gone and I wiped everything down, everywhere that met a painted surface or vinyl siding got some painter’s tape.

frog tape green painter's tape on white wood columns next to wood stained handrails

Then I was ready for the stain, a gel stain that was used for the original application.

Minwax gel stain in container with paint brush sitting on wood handrails

We used this stain in 2012 since I had a fiberglass front entry door. And since I wanted the door and handrails to match (and I’ve never gotten to the bottom of a stain quart), we used the same stuff on the handrails too.

You can really tell the difference where the old meets the fresh stain!

wood stained handrails half stained

Hard to believe it’s the same color!

one handrail stained one wood handrail stained and sanded

I left the stain to dry overnight before moving on to the “top coat”. And this is where I changed it up so as not to go insane. I bought marine-grade varnish, aka the stuff used on wooden boats.

rust-oleum spar varnish being held in hand with paint brush

You have to think that boats get a lot of exposure to the sun, so a product made for boats must be able to stand up to the sun on my front porch…I’ll have to let you know in a year how it’s holding up!

It calls for a natural bristle brush. So I found the only one I had.

paint brush with 100% natural brush stamped on handle

Unfortunately it was in my craft closet and didn’t look like it was in the best shape. But that just meant I wouldn’t have to clean up after I was done and I could just throw it away!

paint brush with blue stain near ferrule

I applied it evenly over all surfaces, including the narrow sides that weren’t peeling to begin with so everything would match the new varnish’s shininess.

This is what it looked like after the first coat of varnish, a little shinier than the stain.

dark wood stained handrails with green painter's tape and one coat of varnish

If you’re using a varnish like this, make sure to follow the directions closely! Unlike a polyurethane, you don’t have to sand between coats unless it’s been more than 12 hours. In fact, it’s preferred to do a second coat after 4 hours with 3 coats MINIMUM!

So I did my first coat, waited 4 hours and then came back for the second coat. Again veering from the last time I did this project, I applied a third coat of varnish instead of stopping at two. An extra layer of protection I guess!

And I’m loving the results! Perhaps a little shinier after 3 coats than I would have originally wanted, at least it looks fresh and new and not worn and old!

wood handrails after three coats of spar varnish

Corner of porch with freshly stained and varnished handrails

Every time I walk past the handrails to get the mail, I still feel a sense of relief like, “Whew glad I fixed that!”

Right wooden handrail after stain application and three coats of varnish

Hello Shiny!

smooth and shiny stained wood handrails

Now I can enjoy some front-porch-sitting without the constant reminder that I need to re-stain the handrails! Ahhhh!

wood handrails after 3 coats of varnish with retro chair on front porch

What projects are you working on now that the weather has cooled down across the country? I’d love to hear from you! Thanks for Checking In! ~Chelsea

7 Comments

  • Ed

    Looks great, getting ready to do the same thing. I would love to know how this has held up, at least so far, if you have a moment?

    • Chelsea Lipford Wolf

      Funny you should ask! I was just inspecting/admiring it a few days ago. It’s held up really well for the past 9 months! The stain certainly isn’t peeling like it was before and it’s lasted longer than the last time I did it with a different varnish. But it isn’t quite as shiny as when it was first applied and dried either. I’m considering lightly sanding it and applying 1 coat of the varnish sometime next spring to give it a longer life. Hope that helps! ~ Chelsea

    • Chelsea Lipford Wolf

      Unfortunately, yes. It looks like the stain is not actually soaking down into the wood. I don’t know if it’s because it’s a gel stain or maybe we stained it too soon the first time? But I’m pretty sure it’s not the varnish’s fault. (If the stain soaked in well then the varnish would soak in too and last longer.) ~Chelsea

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