Oak stairs - oil, varnish or.....?

[Happy Valley]

The stairs are going in this week and I need to treat them. 

 

We are not carpeting the stairs but keeping the solid oak treads and therefore require a good none slip finish. Ideally don't want anything that darkens the wood finish.

 

In boats we used to add very fine sand to varnished teak and holly cabin soles to provide grip.

 

So what would you use?

[markc]

Osmo Top Oil

Edited July 26, 2022 by markc

[Ralph]

We used this on our oak stairs https://osmouk.com/product/polyx-oil-tints/ you also get a raw version. Seems to work well.

[Russdl]

As above. I used Osmo oil with a grey tint. They still look the same - haven’t gone orange and no one’s come a cropper yet. 
 

[Adsibob]

If you have told the stair manufacturer that you aren't having them carpetted, they should have been sanded in such a way that they are not slippery.

We used this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Saicos-Premium-Clear-3305-2-5ltr/dp/B004LXGROK?th=1 on top of a saicos pear stain: https://www.jswoodcraftflooring.co.uk/product-page/saicos-ecoline-oil-ground-coat and very happy with result.

Osmo will be similar.

 

Saicos also make a non-slip oil, but I don't think this is necessary as long as the stairs have been sanded correctly.

 

Just don't polish it with wire wool, because that will make it a bit slippery.