Good for you that you'd even tackle the job yourself.

We use sharp scrapers to get that last 1/8" or 1/4" prepared. However, since I added a Festool sander to my work (expensive little bugger), I do a little less hand scraping.

No good way to get the applicator off the t-bar...other than putting on a pair of latex or vinyl gloves and pulling it off.

Stairs will certainly be a challenge for you. Simply consider it floor work but in a concentrated area. That Festool has made stair work much easier also. I still sometimes use my 7" edger for the first cut, but then switch to the Festool and hand scrapers for the rest of the preparation. Stairwork will take you three times as long as you think it will. Some floor refinishers won't even price stairwork because of the time and effort involved...it is skilled detail work.

As for you first question...I simply don't know. You don't say where you're from.

Thank you for the tips. They made me think of a couple more questions.

When doing stairs, how do you apply the sealer/poly? Disposable foam brushes?

Also on the stairs, how do you do the buffing? I was thinking of cutting one of the 16" maroon pads into small sheets to fit the 1/4 sheet palm sander.

For the first question in the original post, I'm from Ithaca, NY. Since the local places only rent 17" buffers, if the results are acceptable using 16" maroon pads on them, I'll just buy some of those. I also haven't found 17" maroon pads locally or on the internet, so if you know of a source that would ship them, I'd appreciate it.

Harvester Chemicals of Irvington NJ will ship most anything to you UPS. Search the internet for their contact information, as I am away from the office for a few days. You can say that Sohm Flooring Consultants referred you to them.

Foam brushes from a True Value hardware store are the best applicators to use with waterborne sealer and waterborne polyurethane when doing stairs. They will allow you to 'dry brush' sealer and finish on the vertical wood parts (stringers, risers, balusters).

BonaKemi has a new sealer called DTS, which they claim imparts a little color and richness to a floor that is finished 'natural' (no stain). I haven't used it yet. I do use their DriFast stains and won't stain with anything else.

I don't buff stairs at all. I finish sand to 120 grit, stain or seal and then just knock down grain raise with a little hand sanding with 180 grit or higher. Traffic will stick to most anything and... so long as your next coats of Traffic aren't more than 24 hours old, there is no need to buff between coats unless you are knocking down grain raise or attempting to remove debris.

Remember that Traffic or any other floor chemical is a dangerous substance in its uncured state, so be sure to provide for sufficient fresh air as you work. Open windows and fans to exhaust fumes is a good idea. I use an organic respirator when working with Traffic and although the respirator is not rated for use with isocyanate compounds it does work to some degree.