Expert: Eileen Cronk - 5/29/2007

Question
I need to refinish a couple of pieces to make them much darker (dark brown to black) b/c my daughter is enamoured of all things Japanese.  The chest of drawers is white pine, ordered from Sears unfinished about 30 years ago and finished in a warm pecan stain.  The daybed is oak, prefinished at the store, also a warm medium stain, but not so reddish.

I'm loathe to just paint the bed because it is good oak, but I'm also very lazy and just as loathe to strip it clear to the bare wood and start from scratch.  Since I want to take them to a dark cherry / mahogany-ish color, would it be ok to just stain over the top of them both, with the understanding that they're not going to turn out exactly the same shade?

Answer
Hi Lori
Love your thinking LOL
Unfortunately, you are giving stain more powers than it has.
If you take the darkest color stain you can find and rub it on either piece there will be no difference in the color.
Stain needs something to penetrate (for want of a better description). Thats why its put on bare wood.
The only alternative I can see here is to have the pieces sent out to have colored laquer sprayed on.
This cannot be done in the home. You can get the laquer any color you choose like black.
But have a pro look at it please.
Thanks for a great question and making my day.
Kindest Regards
Eileen