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| Leave it to the pro. Michael Dresdner, a nationally known wood finishing and woodworking expert, has answered hundreds of common wood finishing questions in Varathane’s Q&A library to help you successfully complete your project. Click on a link to the left for help and solid advice. |
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| Q: I have a set of old cargo furniture that I want to stain a different color. Since this wood was oiled in the past, what is the best method for prepping the wood to accept a new stain?
A: The best way, though tedious and messy, is to strip off the old finish and oil with paint remover, get back down to clean, raw wood, sand it, then stain with gel stain, One-Step Stain and Polyurethane, or one of the colors of Danish Oil. All the above will stain and seal in one step.
The easiest way, though, is much simpler, though it only works if you plan to go darker instead of lighter. Instead of stripping the existing finish, merely, clean the surface by scrubbing with mineral spirits or TSP on fine nylon abrasive pads. The solvent will remove any surface grease or oil while the pad lightly abrades the surface. Then, add color with One-Step Stain and Poly in an aerosol can, a spray on tinted finish that comes in a wide range of colors. Add as many coats as you need, with sufficient drying time in between, to get the color and intensity you want. |  | |
| Q: I have a maple wood kitchen table that I refinished about 30 years ago. I am refinishing the table top and have sanded the finish down but the stain is still in the wood except for the two or three spots where the polyurethane chipped off over the years. Do I continue to sand until all stain is gone or do I need to use a paint remover to get the rest of the finish off?
A: That’s entirely up to you, though I will say that generally speaking, it is both easier and more reliable to use paint remover instead of sanding. It’s rare that people get all the finish out of the wood with sanding alone, and there’s a good chance of sanding too deeply and sanding off crisp edges and features. There’s also a possibility of sanding surface contaminants, like airborne grease and oils, down into the wood, which can sometimes cause problems when applying a new finish. | | |
| Q: I’m using stripper to remove most of the paint on just the floor deck and stairs. I have half the floor done down to the bare wood. I’m trying to save a little time and want to finish the rest with stripper to remove paint so I can stain and weatherproof before Sunday. What kind can I use?
A: The fact that you used the word weatherproof suggests you are talking about an outdoor deck. If it has only deck stain on it, you can remover it with deck stripper, such as DeckStrip. However, that won’t do much against paint. In that case, I’d go with a good strong paint remover, such as Power Stripper. | | |
| Q: After stripping wood with paint remover, what should I use to clean the wood?
A: Depending on how good a job you do with the paint remover, you often don’t need anything, but I find it helpful to scrub the surface with lacquer thinner and mineral spirits as an extra measure of insurance. |
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