Who hasn’t thought about picking up that dated piece of wood furniture and bringing it new life? Is it worth it? In this article I’ll show you how to refinish wood furniture and breathe new life into it. I’ll show you my process for how I go about refinishing wood furniture.

This project contains a paid product integration from Minwax. All opinions are herein are my own. Visit my disclosure page for more information on affiliate and compensation this site accepts. 

Step #1: SAND!

I know what you’re thinking, “I hate sanding!”. I know. Trust me, so do I. However, if you want to have a quality finish when it’s all said and done, you have to do a good job with your prep. Depending on the piece of furniture you’re working with and the finish you are planning to add on top of the current, this could either be fast or incredibly painstaking. If you’re going to be painting over the current finish, a light sand is probably enough. However, if you’re going to be re-staining, it’s best to get down to the raw wood and that takes time and effort.

I always start with 80-grit and remove as much of the old clear coat and stain as possible. Once I’ve got most of the material removed, then I’ll move on to 120-grit before doing another pass at 220-grit. 220-grit is sufficient for most finishes but I’ll occasionally go up to 400-grit on tabletops and desks.

Paint vs Stain

Paint:

• Painting requires less sanding. Often times just scuffing up the existing finish is adequate to prep the surface.
• Always use a quality primer over the existing finish before adding your new paint finish.

Stain:

• Requires more prep work and sanding. Often sanding all surfaces down to 220 grit and removing any existing stain.
• Occasionally you can stain a darker color over a lighter color without as much sanding.

STEP #2: Pre-Condition

With the majority of the sanding out of the way you’re ready for a new finish….almost! Don’t overlook a quality pre-conditioner if you’re going to be using a stain. ESPECIALLY if you’re refinishing a piece of furniture made out of a soft wood (pine, alder, etc). If you’re going to be staining a soft wood (and even some hardwoods), get in the habit of using a pre-conditioner. For this project, I used Minwax Water Based Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner. Pre-conditioning helps even out stains so you don’t end up with blotchy spots. Pre-conditioner can also help with spots you may not have been able to fully remove the old finish. It just helps even out the finish and is a great habit to get into using.

Step #3: Choosing a Stain

Choosing the right stain is essential for the success of your finished product. There are a bunch of variables to consider including the final color of the piece. One of the biggest things to consider is:

Oil-Based vs Water-Based:

Oil-Based:

• Pro: Oil based finishes are typically more durable
• Pro: Oil based finishes usually don’t raise grain require additional sanding
• Con: Oil based have longer drying time and heavy odors
• Con: Oil based are less eco-friendly and require solvents/thinners to clean up

Water Based: 

• Pro: Water-based are easy to work with and clean up
• Pro: Water-based stains are UV resistant
• Pro: Water-based stains are more forgiving and easily fixed if a mistake is made
• Pro: Fast dry time and low odor
• Con: Water-based often raises grain in wood projects requiring sanding between coats
• Con: Water-based are not as durable as oil-based

Choosing the proper finish is largely a matter of preference and what is available. Typically water-based is more forgiving for the average DIY because it requires less patience between coats, and is typically easier to work with.

In this case I’m using the new color stains from Minwax, specifically Minwax Semi-Transparent Color Stain in the color Royal Pine. These stains come in both a solid color and semi-transparent color. The solid color is more like a paint in that it doesn’t show as much wood grain. The semi-transparent allows more wood grain to show through the finish color. What’s really unique about these stains is that you can tint them to over 240+ colors!

Step #4: Applying the Stain

Each stain and finish varies a little bit in its suggested application. Make sure you take the time to read the label on your stain or finish to make sure you are applying it correctly. Some stains suggest a foam brush or rag while others recommend a specific type of brush for best application. Check out this other article to dive into the differences between spraying, brushing, and wiping on. Other things to consider are making sure you are in a well ventilated space and making sure you are staining/finishing in the proper temperature window for your finish. Again, this should all be outlined on the packaging of your stain/finish

Step #5: Sealing or Top Coating

Typically when you’re finished staining a piece of furniture, you’ll want to apply a top coat/clear coat for protection and/or shine. Typical finishes for clear coats are Satin, Semi-Gloss, and Gloss. These are just a matter of personal preference for your project. There are a large variety of finishes for your top coat typically in the form of a “urethane”.

Make sure you choose one based on the location of the finished product (indoor/outdoor), and in the sheen you want for your project. Also, you CAN apply an oil-based polyurethane or similar over top of a water based stain. However, this requires that your water-based stain is COMPLETELY dry and cured. I DO NOT recommend applying a water based finish over an oil-based stain. I used Minwax One Coat Polyurethane.

Waxing 

Occasionally I may use a paste wax as the final finish instead of or in addition to a polyurethane finish. The wax also offers protection to the furniture/finish but it doesn’t harden to the consistency of a urethane top coat. You can apply a paste wax over a urethane finish pending you add it in thin layers and buff between each. Keep in mind that the wax may alter the sheen of your urethane finish.

Step #6: Be Patient

Refinishing a piece of furniture is a lot of work and not for the faint of heart. But if it was easy you wouldn’t be able to find these old wooden pieces for free or cheap. It takes time to get the finish you want. After all, they don’t make them like they used to!

If you enjoyed this content, please check out some of these other articles you might enjoy.

An Idiot’s Guide to Wood Finishing

Restoring a Backyard Playset

Surface Preparation is Key!

First, the piece has to be ready for a respectable finish. By and large, I will sand up to about 220 grit and call it good. But I take the time to thoroughly sand up through the grits and get all swirl marks out as I go. It can be fun to play around with sanding to as high of a grit as you can, upwards of 600, 800, 1000 and so on. I suggest doing this on practice pieces where you can see when you’ve burnished the wood, not made any noticeable difference, or gone too far. You can also play around with a fine water spray and get the grain to “stand up” or “raise” then sand it back down. Playing around with these techniques will prove invaluable as you will get to know and understand the grain in a way that no article could ever tell you. But for the most part, 220 is good enough for most cases. Then with compressed air, I like to remove the heavy dust particles. Next I use a clean cloth damp with thinner to grab and remove the smaller particles that you would otherwise see and curse over as you watch your product cure. Also, a tack cloth works well to remove fine dust right before you go to apply your product. It should go without saying that dust management is paramount in the finishing process. Sometimes it may be necessary to hang plastic, visqueen, or some sort of barrier to keep the dust out.

To Stain, or Not to Stain?

As a personal rule, I aim to avoid staining wood and rather look for reasons to not stain as opposed to looking for excuses to stain. From Alder to Zebrawood, I find beauty in it all. I love to bring out the look and figure of the grain naturally whenever possible. But sometimes the job just calls for color. Again, I love General Finishes and have used just about all of their products. I like their stains a lot, and would recommend them to anyone looking to stain wood. The first thing that I consider when staining is what kind of wood I am working with. A natural wonder such as Walnut, Pau ferro, Cocobolo, or the like? Not happening. If you apply stain to any such exotic or beautifully figured dark wood, hang up the tools and find a new hobby. If it is a particularly hardwood like hard maple, oak, or hickory for example, the stain applies really well directly on the wood. Think of it as spreading an even coat of water onto a granite counter top with a squeegee. You have a lot of control over where and how much stain gets applied. The drawback is that is doesn’t always absorb much stain, leaving it a lighter shade of the desired color. Sometimes you can apply more coats of the stain and achieve a darker shade, but often you find there is a max capacity of color that can be absorbed. This is sometimes for me where the General Finishes Dye stains come in. They typically are far more potent than a Varathane or Minwax product.

Staining Soft Woods

Softer woods often require the application of a stain control product prior to staining which helps them to take the stain without being left with a blotchy, ugly stain application. But whenever I can, I like to avoid the stain and accentuate the natural beauty of the wood. My favorite product that does this is Maloof Oil. Sam Maloof used this on his chairs and I have used it for years. It is magical on just about any species. It really makes the wood pop and come alive. Walnut oil and mineral oil works really well on items that will come in contact with food. Those can easily be finished off or combined with beeswax to assist in sealing and providing a nice sheen.

At SoCal Woodshop we use our own blend of beeswax and walnut oil for the finish on many of our cutting boards, wood cutlery, and other food safe boards called Board Wax which is available in a 4oz tin on our website. We’ve found it adds a beautiful, food safe finish to many of our projects and people seem to really like it. (Shameless plug intended)

Lacquer, Linseed oil, Polycrylic, Polyurethane?

There is a seemingly endless list of finish options. For the most part, I follow the manufacturer’s guidelines. Any halfway decent company has at least one person on staff that spent many years in school figuring out the best compounds so that we wouldn’t have to. It’s comical to me to see woodworkers attempt to improve a product by thinning it or adding other stuff to it.

Interior vs Exterior Finishes

Interior finishes are for interior purposes. They harden on the wood to protect them from spills and chemicals. Exterior finishes are typically designed to be more flexible to allow moisture to enter and evaporate out of the wood, but they require sunlight to evaporate. I used to think that exterior products must be better and more durable since they are designed for exterior uses. That is not the case. In fact, many interior use products are really excellent on table tops, floors, and other applications where they stand to be exposed to heavy wear and chemicals.

Water based vs. Oil based

A favorite finish of mine is Arm-R-Seal by General Finishes. It is oil based and really enhances the look of the wood, but is also easy to apply and very durable. Oil based products tend to yellow or amber the wood and take significantly longer to dry and cure, often 12 to 24 hours. Water based products dry very quickly and maintain the original, natural color of the wood. However, there are some water based products that act much like oil based ones in that they dry slowly and amber the wood. For water based applications, I often use a box store product like Minwax polycrylic, wipe on polys, or General Finishes Enduro. It depends on the intended use and sometimes profit margins. If it is a wall hanging piece that will likely be left alone, or if I am on a very tight budget, I’ll go with a box store product. All other times, I’ll opt for a General Finishes product.

Spray, Brush, or Wipe?

Spraying

Oil based products can be much more tedious to clean off of the fine parts of an HVLP gun. I prefer to spray water based products because they dry faster, making them more prone to show the brush strokes. Also, water based products are far easier to clean. Simple soap and water or thinner will clean the gun easily. Take the time to play around with the spray patterns and volume knobs before using it on your work piece. You will save a tremendous amount of time, and learn a ton all at once.

Wipe On & Brushing

Oils dry and cure slower making them more forgiving to be brushed or wiped on. I don’t like using foam brushes as they tend to break apart mid application, leaving evil little bits of foam on my pieces. I prefer to wipe or brush oil products as they can be more difficult to clean. When brushing, whenever possible, use long, straight, length of the surface strokes in the direction of the grain. Forget the karate kid’s short and brisk strokes. Challenge yourself to be as smooth as you can. With that, buy yourself a nice brush. A $2 brush will leave a $2 finish and about .33 cents worth of brush hairs in your surface.

Be Patient!

Meet the Author/Woodworker:

Pete Tagliere is the President of SoCal Woodshop, a collective of woodworkers in Los Angeles, CA with this mission of furthering the craft of carpentry through sharing knowledge, experience, and skills in a friendly, community atmosphere.