Staining old wood furniture? Easy or hard?

I have an old china cabinet (drawers and a hutch) that is light colored wood. Would it be difficult to stain the wood darker to match my espresso-colored dining room set? Do I need to sand it or anything first?

Re: Staining old wood furniture? Easy or hard?

I would imagine there is some kind of sealer on it. Lacquer, polyurethane, etc. You'll need to get all of that off to get to the wood. You don't have to sand. You can use paint stripper. You do have to get it off, though. Otherwise, the stain won't absorb into the wood.

Stain an inconspicuous location first, since the stain in the can won't look exactly the same on the wood, and won't look the same on two different species of wood.

Make sure you let it dry the recommended amount of time (some stain needs a few days to fully cure) before putting a clear coat over it to protect it.

Re: Staining old wood furniture? Easy or hard?

Rather than stain, we opted to paint our old inherited dining room set. I love it. There are plenty of pics online from people that have painted furniture... I especially love this one from thenester.com.

Message edited 6/8/2013 5:08:22 PM.

Re: Staining old wood furniture? Easy or hard?

It's not hard Per se but it is elaborate intensive. There is a"stain" that you can paint onto finished wood but it doesn't look the same as when it's done properly.
You would have to strip the cabinet of all old finishes and then sand it smooth. Then add the new stain and a coat or two of poly-coating. I've refinished a few pieces over the years, most recently a toy box built by DH's grandfather. I find it relaxing and always love seeing the finished product.

Re: Staining old wood furniture? Easy or hard?

We stained the top of a light oak colored coffee table with gel stain and painted the bottom. I'll post a pic...

Re: Staining old wood furniture? Easy or hard?