Not The Best, Not The Worst

Finally, after months and months of putting it off, I finished my steps. As you can see, they're not the best yet not the worst. The color is not as light as the flooring and not as dark as the kick trim. The places where I put the plastic wood putty still show but not as brightly as they did before. I was on my knees on the stairs all day on Sunday. First I used my brown sharpie pen to color the putty spots. It worked best if I smeared the sharpie ink immediately with spit. I tried water and it didn't work as well. A rag and a sponge didn't work as well either. Only the finger rub with spit on it blended the sharpie ink into the wood. After a while I got real good at gathering spit in my mouth while coloring the spots. Basically I have licked my stairs. I rubbed my finger so often I pulled the skin away from the fingernail a little bit. After that was done I put another coat of stain over it followed by a coat of shellac. Then I waited a half hour, sanded the shellac, wiped it off, and put another coat on. Wait, sand, wipe, and paint. Wait, sand, wipe, and paint. I am glad it is finished. I am also glad I didn't have to paint the steps because even thought they're not perfect, I like the fact that the wood grain shows. The steps look worn and used and that is okay because the whole house looks worn and used so everything matches.