I have several items of furniture that I intend to stain. The first two are dressers made of wood which are presently painted. I would like to stain both of them a warm chocolatey brown and then varnish them to protect them. I would like to know what steps I should follow to do this: What is best to remove the paint? Do I need to sand them before staining them? Do I need to identify the wood before purchasing the stain? What are the best methods of staining? What type of varnish do I need?
The other item I would like to stain is an antique rocking chair made of elm which has always kept it's original colour but has been kept in shape with beeswax. I would like to also stain this chair a warm brown, but afterwards is it possible for me to apply beeswax to protect it? I was told that a varnish may possibly be too harsh for this type of wood. Thanks in advance for all of those who answer with advice! :)
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Jacobean by MinWax is really nice. It is not water-based though!
Have you found a nice chocolate stain you like? What's it called? I've been looking for a nice dark chocolate stain, but can't find one I like.
I've done some refinishing with stain and varnish. It is a lot of fun, but a lot of work. As with any project, it is thorough preparation that will give you good results.
Wherever you can buy paint and stain products, you will find good pamphlets with instructions, so make good use of those and ask a lot of questions in those stores.
I personally do not like to use toxic chemicals for stripping and have only used 3M Safe Stripper with very good results. Check them all out and decide which you want to use. You must be careful to follow all saftey measures. It is very, very messy also, so you may want to consider using a professional furniture stripping service.
Until you get the old paint off, you will not know what you have. If the wood is attractive, then go ahead and stain. If it looks bad, then you may want to repaint. Again, the stains and varnishes I use are water-based and work extremely well and are much safer and easier to use than the oil-based products.
Try the stain first on an inconspicuous place of the piece to see what it will look like. If different woods have been used to build the piece, you may not get even colour. This is simply due to the nature and base colour of wood.
Yes, you must sand after stripping. Wood is an organic product and the grain is raised during the refinishing process. I would start with maybe 120 grit, then go to 180 maybe (I'm no expert, but I read a lot and take tips from the pros). Use a much higher (finer) grit after staining and after each coat of varnish (very light sanding). After each sanding, you must use tack cloth to remove all dust particles.
When varnishing, be sure to have as little dust as possible flying around, or it will just make a mess of your finish. The higher quality products for the DIY crowd are Min Wax, Flecto and Benjamin Moore.
Yes, it is a lot of work, but you will amaze yourself with your handiwork and will want to stain and varnish the whole house!