Have you ever stained a piece of furniture and thought you picked the “perfect” stain but then realized it wasn’t what you wanted? Did you live with it, or decide to sand it down and start from scratch?
I’ve learned that staining furniture isn’t much different than dying my hair. I’ve been blonde, strawberry-blonde, streaked-blonde, red-head, black and brunette so I know what I’m talking about. 😉
Like any good hair stylist will tell you, you can apply a dark hair colour over a light colour, but not a light over a dark. To go from a dark shade to a lighter shade, you must strip and remove the dark shade first.
When it comes to furniture and wood, staining over stain works exactly the same way!
Today, while trying to turn two dirty scratched road-rescue tables into “Country-Charm”, I chose Peacan Minwax for the tops. Once applied, I decided I wanted to stain the tops much darker. What I didn’t want was the hassle of stripping and sanding all the wood over again.
I was feeling adventurous so I applied Dark Walnut Minwax stain over the already stained Pecan wood. It worked beautifully!
The end result didn’t turn out the exact shade/colour which is shown on the Dark Walnut Minwax label, but, somewhat warmer due to the golden tones of the Pecan underneath. Seeing as I’m not trying to get an exact match to any existing furniture, no biggie… and I quite like the warm tones coming through.
So here’s my lesson for the day which I’m sharing with you ~
1. Staining over stain is easy and works beautifully if your applying a dark stain over a lighter stain on raw wood.
2. You can mix 2 or more stains together to make DIY custom stains.
3. Warm stains work great to slightly warm up cooler toned stains.
4. Pick an inconspicuous spot to test your stains before applying to the entire surface.
5. Last but not least, it’s not advisable to stain over polyurethane or any other protected finish such as wax, varnish or shellac.
Here’s why. Last summer I tried touching-up scratches on a head & foot board by applying a matching cherry stain over the finish. Big mistake! After applying it, it did help camouflage the scratches but; the end result was horrible. Regardless of how many times I tried wiping it down, it felt tacky to the touch and rubbed off on my hands and clothes every time I was near it.
Have any questions or staining stories of your own? Or maybe we should have some fun and share hair dye stories gone horribly wrong… I have a few of those!
Have a great day!
Denise
Hello again... I'm so happy you dropped by! Let's keep in touch! Follow me on social media or sign up for a dose of furniture painting inspiration and diy tutorials. :) 
We have colums that were stained to look like cedar but they just look orange to me. I love the minwax early american stain but im aftaid it wont cover the orange. Ive sanded the colums but not sure how to get rid of this ugly orange!! Please help!!
I just applied a light walnut stain to an interior pine door but the finish came out with a reddish tint which is not the desired look. I need to darken this to bring out a warmer appearance. Suggestion as to what shade of stain I should apply over this existing stain?
Hi Steve! I’ve had this happen too. Pine is notorious for turning yellowish undertones when staining. An ebony stainebony stain could help neutralize those red undertones but I would test first… in case it’s too dark for you. Or I might try a Jacobeantry a Jacobean… or something along those lines… cooler undertones. Good luck. 🙂
Hi Denise,
I would love to either stain or paint the horrific dark 70’s cabinets in my mom’s kitchen, but they don’t seem to be made of real wood, but something cheaper. Better than pressboard, but not as solid as real wood. I’ve tried sanding them, but that only seems to make them even smoother and paint just won’t stick. I’ve heard about spay-on options like liquid sand paper. Have you ever tried spray-on options to rough up a surface in preparation for paint?
Hello! I see this is an older blog, not sure if you will see this or not. We recently decided to refinish an old light oak table. We sanded down the top, and used a stain called “slate”. The stain is BLUE. I have a blue kitchen table when I was hoping for a weathered gray look. I have not sealed the stain….can i add a stain over the top of this? What would you do?
Hi Heather! I know how frustrating it is when stain doesn’t turn out as you want. ugggh. You could try adding a darker warm gray stain over the blue. It may go darker and be a little more bluish than you were expecting regardless tho. Seeing as you haven’t topcoated, you can play around with a few stains but its really trial and error when mixing stains because even the type of wood plays a factor. Good luck, I hope it works out for you.
Thank you for the reply! We decided to re-sand and use a totally different stain. Its darker, and still slightly blue tinted, but it is MUCH better. What a day!
I’m sure… it’s a lot of work! I’m so happy you found a stain you like better. 🙂
I have oak stained floor boards, door trim, stair rails, etc., throughout and would like to stain them darker. Would the liquid sander work to prep them, or should I use actual sandpaper?
Hi Jacki. If you’re working with trim, rails etc, sanding is definitely better imo.
Hi Denise. I have a cabinet that t use for a Pantry. we purchased it unfinished and stained it a maple color. we used a gel or wax stain cannot remember which. can I stain over it without sanding it? I will of course clean it thoroughly.
What is your advise? Lois
I already darkened my cabinets with espresso brown gel stain. I think they are a little too dark. Can I lighten them to a lighter color stain?
thanks
Hi Anna! Without sanding back some of the dark stain, a lighter look can not be achieved with lighter stain. As I mentioned it’s like dying your hair. If you were to dye it black and then apply say a light brown, the black is still going to dominate.
I have the same problem. I prepped a set of dressers I believe are maple.. stained them with minwax, early American. Some of the wood grabbed the stain more than other areas. The surface feels a bit rough. I was wondering if. I used steel wool to smooththe surface before using a darker stain would help ? These are Heywood Wakefield dressers and were constructed by piecing in the wood together to make this specific style of drawers.
Sanding with 100 grit should open up the grain a bit more. The finer the sanding media the harder to stain. The grain can actually be sealed from staining by using too fIne of a sand paper or steel wool
Hi, I’ve got a farmhouse table that I’m going to refinish. I want the same color or even darker, so I just lightly sanded it. Well some areas of the sanding are lighter than others. After applying one coat of stain, those same spots are lighter. It seems like the stain just wipes off. I’m going to let try and try again, but I’m afraid the rest of the table and those light spots will never catch up to each other! I really don’t believe that I need to sand down to bare wood, do you?
I just sanded my golden oak kitchen cabinets and stained them using Minwax Dark Walnut mixed with Classic Gray (70-30 mix). The grain is gorgeous but I feel there is just too much orange coming through. I am going for a weathered rustic look, maybe a slight white wash. I do not want to re-sand them. Is there something else I can put on them prior to doing my polyurethane? I have looked at dry brushing and white washing, but do not want to much white.
Hi Deb. A subtle wash or dry brush may do the trick. ?? If there is a raised grain you could try a white glaze. A glaze is easy to control when wet so if you play around with it you might get just the right amount your happy with. ?? It’s always good to test first though. You wouldn’t want to ruin all the hard work you’ve already put in.
You mentioned not staining over anything with a varnish. I have a mantle that appears to be sealed with poly or varnish or some type, but I’m wanting to stain it darker. Would I need to sand it first, then re stain? Or maybe use a watered down chalk paint?
Hi Julie! Yes, if you stain directly over topcoat it will become tacky as in the example I used with the cherry headboard. Sanding would be the way to go to get a nice dark finish.
I ordered new kitchen cabinets they are the wrong color. I wanted dark brown but they are a Reddish brown
I m push for time would you stain a hole kitchen or just return them all , because that is a lot of work
Plus they will discount the cabinets for me
Regina, sorry to hear that. Personally, I would return them. For the amount of time it would take to restain etc, and seeing as they are brand new, I would return and get the exact color you were hoping for. Good luck. 🙂
Hi I would like to restain my frames / moldings in my house from a pine color to a cherry color, when you go to remove the top coat is it just slightly to remove the gloss so that it will steap in, then after re apply the gloss?
Denise, I bought a wood coffee table and the stain is messed up ; slightly bubbled on some areas and just scratched in others. I want it to look good enough to sell but I don’t want to completely redo it. It has a dk. walnut stain (looks like) on it now. If I lightly sand to scuff it up, can I apply Dk. Walnut Minwax stain over the existing stain without it “gumming up? Question 2 – or would it be better to apply minwax polyshades (stain & polyurethane) so I don’t have to put a top coat on after the stain? THANKS for your help!
Jackie
Hi Jackie! Hmmm, I’m not sure? My concern would be the bubbles/scratches and existing topcoat. If you start sanding (even lightly) those bubbles might get worse and may require a full sanding anyway. But if you stain over an existing topcoat, it may get tacky/gummy just as you said. Maybe try in an inconspicuous area and see how it reacts. I’ve never used Polyshades over an existing stain and/or topcoat so I’m not sure. ?? Sorry, probably not the answer you were hoping for. 🙁
i want to darken my golden oak kitchen cabinets , when u did the end tables.. did they have a finish on them and did you just stain right over that.. no sanding? I have read alot about staining or glazing over finished products.. but if you do so can it be left unsealed after u restain? I am wondering how it will hold up..say wiping down a cabinet over time.. and I like the finish that is currently on my cabinet.. dont know whether it is polyurethane or what its kitchen oak cabinets.. i can wipe them down easily with a bit of water and a bit of soap.. but resealing would be alot more work.. thanks KIm
Hi Kimberly! If there is a slick easy to clean/wipe down topcoat on your oak kitchen cabinets, they would require sanding to darken them up with a stain. Otherwise, the stain will sit on top of your topcoat and become tacky like it did with my headboard example. And yes, I know a lot more work, but stained would does require a topcoat to seal it and allow it to be cleaned/and wiped down.
Funny, i had picked similar colors to yours, i strained Pecan first, it felt it was a bit light, got. e light walnut, did it on a small piece of wood, but didn’t like the walnut either, too dark for my taste. I was looking for something that looks like pecan but more darker.