Cabinets, Furniture, Woodworks/gel stain usage

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Expert: - 11/29/2007


Question
I recently bought a new dining room set with a distressed blackish finish to it.  i kept my old sideboard which has factory finish golden oak stain on it.  can gel stain be used right over the factory finish to match my dining set or do i have to strip any of the finish off it first?
thanks so much!  dmc

Answer
hi there, Gel stain is not paint.  Stain must be able to penetrate into the wood in order for the wood to hold the color.  First you must be sure that what you have is composed of actual wood. You can strip the old finish but if stains were used originally you will most likely need to sand it to remove the color. If it is real wood, then it will be sandable.  You will need to sand to remove the original finish, then apply the stain and finally put a protective clear coat over it all.  it will take a bit of skill to first match the color and then to add the distress marks.   Thanks for the question.

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maura macaluso

Expertise

I can answer most questions, regarding, wood sculpture, wood carving, carving tools and accessories and different types of woods.I am not an appraiser of carvings nor an antique dealer.

Experience

I do full design work, custom carving, restoration, fabrication, repair and refinishing. I can take a piece of raw wood and turn it into a work of art and I can help you do the same. I am "the" carving instructor for the new york city parks dept. I am heavily involved in carving on the internet and belong to many, many mail lists which are quite active. I am also an international promoter of woodcarving and am affiliated with many master carvers, notably nora hall, originally from holland, now in the U.S. and kalina pavlova, a bulgarian master carver. I routinely communicate with the top names in professional woodcarving nationally and internationally.

Organizations
the national association of woodcarvers. the woodcarvers of queens NY, the staten island woodcarvers. the northeast woodcarving association. the world wide carving internet list

Publications
chip chats-the national magazine of woodcarving. also at www.carvinginnyc.com

Education/Credentials
Self taught artist and sculptor, 40 years of drawing and painting as a hobby, 5 years of serious woodsculpting. I have my own website and have written a 300 pg book on carving. I have published online tutorials and pictorial projects

Awards and Honors
many first place awards

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