Varnish for my bannister

[kublacant]

my bannisters ( where you would put your hand to walk up the stairs) are wooden and could look lovely but are looking old and dirty!

I have sanding blocks for wood to start with. Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations for decent wood varnish for them?

I'd personally oil them rather than varnish, as shiny varnish is really really dated. If you oil, I recommend osmo. If varnish, I have no idea, but just go to a shop and have a look at what's on offer for the type of wood you have.
Are the banisters shaped on a lathe, or just square cut? Just because sanding lathe cut banisters by hand could be a total pita!

As a retried French Polisher, I feel uniquely qualified to answer this. As the previous post suggests oiling would be preferable to varnish both in ease and feel although not ideal. The problem with oils is they will ‘soak up’ any dirt and grime and over time start to look dirty. If you really do want the simplest solution then go for Rubio Monocoat oil (be warned if you do oil it then don’t like it you can’t recoat it). I prefer this to Osmo, though any oiled finish will give you a ‘bare’ look. If you want a proper job and have the time, then use Shellac or French Polish (same thing just different marketing) This can be ‘rubbered’ or brushed, there are plenty of Utube channels on how to apply it. You can leave it shiny or rub it down with fine grade wire wool once dry for a duller, flatter finish. Either way the Shellac will withstand years of traffic on a handrail. Which ever method you go with ensure any existing vanish / waxes / grease is removed from the handrail before you start. If you need any further advice, I’d be happy to help.

I used osmo top oil designed for worktops on my bannisters and that has been brilliant leaves a very natural finish and is stain resistant

It might be good to get the varnish tested for lead before you sand it off. There are companies online that do the tests.

Wow thank you for the very detailed advice. It’s more complicated than I thought.

Now I know why I have never got round to doing this 😆.

I’ll definitely look at oils instead of varnish thank you for that advice.
Ive attached a couple of pics