Expert: Eileen Cronk - 11/16/2009

Question
Hi, me and my wife are looking to save money on a new dinning room set with buffet table but after talking it over we decided to keep what we have and just sand the tables and revarnish with a dark wood color.  Could you help us by giving us a step by step on how to sand and varnish the tables.  Thank you for your attention, Josh and family.

Answer
Hi Joshua
Nice to hear from you.
Usually to do what you want to do, we strip and refinish the pieces.
You cannot sand off a finish to change stain color. It must be stripped of all finish with stripper, restained, and a new clear coat applied.
I am sending the info for that.
Before you start full throttle into stripping you should do a test area to see if the finish comes off easily and to see how the wood takes the new stain.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR STRIPPING FURNITURE
The first thing you must do is assemble the material to do the job.
The stripper is the most important item.  
I am hoping you can get "CIRCA 1850" brand paint and varnish remover in your area.
Here is a link
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=1694&familyN...

MATERIAL LIST For the stripping stage.
1 gallon stripper
3 boxes of Bull Dog steel wool in medium grade.
One 3 inch oil based paint brush.
Rubber gloves (like you do dishes with), and a pair of cotton gloves inside the rubber ones.
People react differently to stripper. A lot of people feel heat through the rubber gloves, but I feel cold. Have no idea why.
An empty large coffee can. (for the stripper)
A couple of old tooth brushes.
Lots of old rags (I like t-shirts or cotton but for this first stage whatever you have)
Lots of newspaper to protect the garage floor
LOTS OF VENTILATION..A MUST
That's all you need to get started.
HERES WHAT YOU DO...
Work in sections.
Brush on the stripper with the brush. Stripper will quit working if it dries, so keep it wet till the finish softens.
Then take a rag and wipe this mess off.
Then another coat of stripper, rag off again, then while the wood is still wet, take the steel wool and rub with the grain till the wood is nice and clean.
Depending on the material you are removing, another coat of stripper is often needed but you will know this as you progress into the job.
Use the toothbrush in crevices.
Thats all there is to it ...move to another section and continue.
No other prep is necessary...and DO NOT SAND
When the stripping is complete, stain and apply your clear coating.
Please let me know if anything is not 100% clear.
But do the testing first. Its vital you know the outcome.
Regards
Eileen