How To Refinish Furniture

Learn how to refinish furniture to give your tired looking pieces a new life. Here’s how you can strip and refinish your furniture in just five easy steps.

1. Remove the old stain. Using coarse sandpaper, sand every trace of varnish from your wood furniture, otherwise it will not take the new stain evenly when you refinish your furniture, and it may end up looking blotchy. Smooth it over with fine grit sandpaper.
2. Choose a stain color. Now is your chance to stain the furniture with the color you love. If the current stain is dark, you will not be able to refinish furniture with a lighter color, but you will be able to use a darker color over a light stain.
3. Condition the wood. Certain types of wood are dry and do not take stain very evenly. Before you refinish furniture with these types of wood, apply wood conditioner with a foam brush and wait fifteen minutes before applying the stain.
4. Apply the stain. Working over a drop cloth, apply your stain with a clean brush or cotton rag and let it absorb into the wood. Remove excess stain with a clean cloth and apply a second coat if needed.
5. Finish with a top coat. Read the label on your can of stain for drying times before applying a top coat to your refinished furniture. Apply one clear coat and allow it to dry; lightly sand and apply a second coat.

Once you have refinished furniture the first time, it will become easier every time after that. After you have finished, you can sit back and relax. Now enjoy your new piece of furniture.