My stairs used to be horrible. We called them the stairs from He!!.
They got steeper the higher you went up. Some risers were 7". Some were 10" and everything in between.

So we had them fixed so they are to code and very easy to climb. I need to stain them now. I have put the staining off for about 9 months because I don't want to mess up that pretty oak.

Questions:
1. Do I stain first, then fill the nail holes with putty? Or vice versa?

2. I know I need to make sure they are sanded well. Then use one of those sticky cloths to get all of the dust off. What do I do next? stain?

3. Where do I start? Top and go down? Do I do the side boards first or the stairs first? Or do I do both as I go down? or up?

4. Then I let it dry how long before I put polyurethane on? How long does it have to dry before it can be walked on?

5. I have about 20 stairs. Could I get it all finished within one week? Or does it need more time to dry in between stain and polyurethane?

Thanks! Peke