Finish for dock step treads

[Tayana42]

Such a small job I almost hate to ask, but… for my polyethylene dock steps I made stair treads out of some Douglas fir. Now before I mount the treads I want to finish them with something that will seal and protect them and will stand up to wear and tear from shoes going up and down the dock steps. Ideally, since I’d like to be done with this, I would like a one step, stain/varnish. Any suggestions short of first stain it, then coat it with epoxy then varnish it?

[Oeanda]

I am currently prepping a boat deck to paint over it with a truck bed liner called Durabak. When we do the second coat containing traction grit I am going to put some on our steps and also a couple areas of the sole which are slippery. We are using the clear Durabak and adding PVC grit where we need traction. By all accounts the stuff is incredibly tough and I assume that a quart of it would go a long way for your application. Not a stain exactly though it can be tinted. Anyway- one possibility for you.

[Tayana42]

Oeanda, thanks for the suggestion. I could just paint it too, that would be simplest, but I would prefer a stained wood look.



Non-slip shouldn’t be an issue.

[Bill O]

It's only Douglas Fir, so maybe a clear deck sealant from the local hardware store.

We made stair treads out of plastic deck "boards". They have built in non slip, look good and for years (so far) are maintenance free. Maybe something to try next time.

[tkeithlu]

Their being dock steps suggests that they will get more grit abuse than varnish may endure. Consider varnish and then neatly cut sections of grip tape, such as:

https://www.amazon.com/Grip-Tape-Wat...s%2C220&sr=8-4