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Cabinets, Furniture, Woodworks/Changing color on a dinning table

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Expert: - 3/27/2009


Question

Dinning Room Set
I have a dinning table that is natural blond but it has like a shiny finish and I would like to change to a darker color. Can I just add color wax on top of it or do I need to strip it? If I need to strip it what should I use? Thank you.

Answer
Hi Myriam
Nice to hear from you.
This is one of those questions that I am reluctant to answer because I have to discourage you from doing this yourself.
While I like your idea of a dark stain on the top (in fact I think it would look quite nice), its not something you can do yourself.
You see Myriam, the wood is maple and it will not take a dark stain very well even if you could remove the stain already there...which I doubt.
And as you thought, the top would need to be stripped with an MC paint stripper before any stain was attempted.
I would hate for you to remove the lovely finish on this table top with no guarentee of a good result in staining.
Having said that, the top could easily be taken to a pro and have colored lacquer sprayed on. This is what should be done.
This is a very nice set.
Kind Regards
Eileen

Eileen Cronk

Expertise

Hi..I can answer most questions about the repairing,stripping and refinishing of all your old furniture and wood items(the things we call antiques)I can give advice about what to buy/avoid at auctions/flea markets. I do not give appraisals on antiques.

Experience

I have been refinishing antiques for the past 30yrs. While I have taken several courses over the years,I have found that "hands on" learning is the best teacher. Perhaps I can help you avoid some of the mistakes I made while learning.

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