It’s necessary to sand the surface of your treads before doing anything else. This should remove the unsightly orange tint of the pine, buff out scratches, and also allow the pine to better accept the stain. If you don’t already have a power sander, purchase or rent one from your local home improvement store.
You can also use a cheese cloth to wipe away the dust. If you’d rather make your own tack cloth, soak a piece of cotton fabric in water, wring it out, and then wet it lightly with turpentine. Drip some varnish onto the cloth and then wring it out to distribute the varnish evenly throughout the cloth.
If you end up having to sand and fill in left behind scratches and holes, wait 24 hours before you vacuum each tread and wipe them down with a tack cloth as you did before.
You can get wood conditioner from a home improvement store. For best results, apply the conditioner in horizontal strokes.
If you need to get up and down the stairs, only stain every other tread for now. Once they’re completely dry, stain the remaining treads.
You can find polyurethane at a home improvement store. For best results, follow the directions on the polyurethane and stir it right before you dip the brush into the can each time.
Add a third coat of polyurethane for a more protected seal. Return to using the stairs as usual 24 hours after the final coat.
