How to Stain Wood Furniture
How to Stain Wood Furniture
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If you are here that means you are ready to stain wood furniture, congrats! If you don’t have your new furniture yet, check here for tips on a great deal! Once you are ready, here are your next steps.
1. Clean it! Take a tiny little bucket, I use old Tupperware and fill it with warm soapy water. Use your shop towel, dunk it in the soap bucket and squeeze. Now use the rag to scrub the piece of furniture. This is the best way to not mess with the stain or finish, and get it nice and clean. If you’re going to sand it, don’t skip this step! You never know what gunk is on the furniture and you’d hate to breathe it in while sanding.
2. Next, it’s time to sand. Start by spraying with Kwik stripper spray which can be purchased from Walmart for around $10. Spray in the nook and cranny’s to get the hard-to-reach spots the big electric sander can’t get to.
Then I use my electric sander, and rough sand (60 grit) the entire piece to strip it of all old stains or finishes. I usually do 2 passes of this because it needs it and because you can visually see the improvement once you do it for a second time. See these photos of this 4 drawer dresser for proof! The first picture has one pass, the second picture has two passes with the 60 grit. Be sure to sand each side of the furniture thoroughly. That means the entire outside, and then flipping it upside down or on its side so that the entire piece is consistent.
3. After sanding, you are ready to stain your wood furniture. Once you have prepped the wood furniture, it’s time to pick the new wood stain! I like to test on a small area of the furniture to see if the wood takes the stain well. If the wood is older or has a lot of grain/knots, you should first use a wood conditioner to even out how it will absorb the new stain. You can test on any area of the furniture and if you hate the effect you can sand it off and try something else. However, a better option would be to use a test piece of wood made of the same material, if possible.
When applying a new stain to wood furniture, you want to wipe it on and then wipe it right back off. Work your way down the plane of the furniture. Keeping with the coffee table as an example, start in one corner and work your way to the other side. Once you do, go back to your starting point and wipe the stain off. Keep working this way until you complete all sides of the piece of furniture.
Let the stain dry for a few hours and access how you like it. You can always add more stain if needed to adjust the color to the desired tone.
4. Once you are happy with how the furniture stain looks, it’s time for polycrylic! Polycrylic is a MinWax product, and it is my favorite product to seal up furniture. It goes on easily and lasts forever. They offer every sheen you could want. For furniture, I prefer the matte or satin sheen, but you can pick whichever you prefer.
That’s it! Give your new furniture a couple nights to totally cure and then put it to good use!