Woodworking

Whatever you do, test the finish first. If you can remove the piece and do a test on the bottom, do it before you commit to the entire piece.

I'd probably do what you said, maybe use some sanding sealer first, and then stain and wipe on poly. I've had great success mixing poly and oil based stain 50:50 to make a wipe on finish.

I'd go with an oil-based polyurethane. Stain is your choice. While water based poly will have much less odor I've found it to be less durable.

Just go with the wipe on poly. The other oils don't make that huge a difference, and build slower than what I would want in a high traffic area.

Wish I could help ya. You definitely want a hardened finish like poly or shellac, but shellac is going to stink up your home if you can’t remove the banisters to finish.

I’ve had a lot of luck with beeswax for a finish, but more for boxes than furniture. There are a lot of great bands out there, though you’d probably have to reapply every 6-12 months (which would get tedious)

Not to state the obvious, but how is the handrail finished?

clear coat?

My choice would probably be Osmo PolyX. It's fairly easy to apply, only take 2-3 coats, takes a little while to fully cure--but not as long as pure tung oil--and gives a nice, durable, natural looking finish. It can be freshened up fairly easily if necessary, unlike polyurethane. What I like about it is that it's a fairly matte finish, so you get to see the wood without a high gloss.

If you want a shinier finish, you could try shellac. You'll need to build up a lot of coats, but recoat time is about an hour to an hour and a half, so it's not bad. You do need to sand lightly between each coat, and the final coat can be rubbed with powdered pumice to buff to a high gloss. Shellac can be damaged by standing water--it will bloom--but it's fairly easy to repair. Be warned that if you think you might want to finish with poly at some point, you need to get dewaxed shellac; the natural waxes in shellac will interfere with other coatings.

Kaide! 👍

Hardwax oil like rubio, osmo or odies seem to be the favourites when it comes to higher end stuff, you can apply maintenance coats and/or repair fairly easily from what I heard.

Whatever you do, you should do the same with the handrail, it'll clash of they don't match

I'd suggest either oil or water poly. Hardwax oil and other oils require ongoing maintenance, like once a year. Shellac is also a great finish but is not recommended for high traffic areas.