Tips for Staining Old Furniture

You stroll through the dimly lit thrift store, the smell of old clothes combining with the spicy scent of ancient furniture. There! The corner table you have been looking for. Thirty dollars later, you set the table in front of your antique appraiser cousin.

“It’s worth forty bucks,” he says.

Now you are ready to re-stain and finish your corner table without the danger of ruining a valuable antique. But how do you do it? Simple: Prepare, Perfect and Paint.

#1 Prepare.
The first thing to do to your potentially gorgeous new piece is to strip the old finish and some of the stain off. There are plenty of good products out there for this, just make sure you don’t get one that is full of water. I like Minwax, their stuff is reliable and works very well.

Here are some stripping tips:
*Put down lots of newspaper and/or cardboard, you should plan on making a mess.
*Do this in a ventilated area.
*Apply the stripper in one direction, and as thickly and quickly as possible.
*Use an old, but still good, paintbrush.
*If you are using good Minwax stripper, wait until it bubbles all over.
*Use a wide paint scraper to scrape the stuff off. Do this in one direction again.
*Repeat, going another direction.

Once you have successfully stripped as much as you can without scraping at the precious wood, deactivate the stripper with a cloth slightly dampened by vinegar. Then wipe the piece down one more time with a very slightly water-damp cloth. Allow it to dry.

#2 Perfect.
After you have stripped the old finish and much of the wax off, and the piece is dry, it is time to sand. Feel free to use an electric hand sander, but also plan on doing some of it without electricity. Your goal is to remove residual finish and stain, as well as smoothing out dings and gouges. Don’t go nuts! A few little imperfections give your piece character. Start with 120 sandpaper or so, then move to about 200 to make sure you leave no scratches. Do a good job with this and your piece will look amazing. This is your opportunity to perfect this piece to your pleasure, so take the time!

This is also a good opportunity to check the level of your table and make any repairs and adjustments that are needed.

When you are confident in your sanding job, get a clean, dry paintbrush and enthusiastically clean off the dust. Your table should be perfectly clean, so I actually take a lint-free cloth and dampen in slightly to make sure the table is clean. I also make sure I feel no raised grain in the piece before I move on to the next step.

#3 Paint.
I don’t really mean paint. But it’s three P’s, you see?
Anyway, once your piece is perfected, get some good stain. Again, Minwax is nice. Don’t get the 2 in 1 stuff that is stain and polyurethane together. This doesn’t always go on smoothly and is a bad shortcut. Choose a stain that won’t do battle with the natural color of your piece. I have a local furniture maker who I consult when I am looking for the perfect stain.

When you have the stain you want, go ahead and do a test spot on some out of the way place on the piece, usually on the underside of the table top. If you’re happy with the color, you are ready to go. Here’s what you do:

*Use a quality, non-shedding paintbrush to quickly and evenly apply the stain.
*Do this in a well vented area, preferably not outside though, unless you can keep dust away.
*Wait twenty to thirty minutes and then use a lint-free cloth (available at most DIY stores) to wipe excess stain off.
*Let the stain dry completely and decide if you want it darker. If so, repeat.

Once your stain is completely dry, you are ready to finish the piece. You want to dispense with the paintbrushes, and you don’t want to cut costs. Get lint-free paper towels, the truly professional ones, and get some high quality finish. Satin is the most popular, as glossy doesn’t usually go well with other furniture.

*Use the quality paper towels to smoothly, evenly and methodically apply the finish.
*Start in the middle and go toward the sides.
*Try to go fairly quickly.
*Protect your piece from all dust and do this in a ventilated area.
*When you are finished, turn off the lights and check for missed spots. Then turn the lights back on and check again.
*Let it dry fully: about three hours.
*Sand gently with 200 grade paper.
*Brush the dust off thoroughly.
*Apply one more coat and allow to dry for 24 hours before using.

It is a lot of work to make your piece look good, but it is work worth doing. There is a certain, unique sense of pride and satisfaction when you look at a piece of wooden furniture that you resurrected. Good luck