Expert: Eileen Cronk - 3/20/2007

Question
Hi. I have a new piece of furniture (an armoire wall unit) that is stained a medium oak color. The piece is solid wood (oak) and contains no MDF. I am thinking of restaining this a lighter honey oak color. What is the best way to go about this? Do I strip it? Sand it? Since I want to go lighter, I figure I have to do some priming before I restain. Any suggestions are appreciated!  

Answer
Hi Jennifer
Nice to hear from you.
This piece will have to be stripped of the finish in order to restain.
However, going from dark color to light is difficult because the dark stain will have penetrated the wood.
I find this especially true with oak.
So now you are left with the task of sanding after the stripping. And believe me when I say this will be a lot of sanding. Hardwood is hard to sand. It will take a lot of sanding to get down to clear wood. And great care must be taken with the sanding or you will have sandpaper scratches that will not become apparent until the stain is applied.
I also note this is a new piece. This tells me that the finish very likely is lacquer.
Lacquer is tricky stuff to remove and I find the new lacquer will not respond to paint stripper..don't ask me why LOL..it just won't. Old lacquer will come off easily with paint stripper though.
So to remove new lacquer we need lacquer thinner. Terrible stuff to use which I won't get into LOL.
Jennifer I am not trying to discourage you from doing this, but its a big job for the untrained.
Get back to me if you need clarification.
Regards
Eileen