A BEGINNER TUTORIAL ON HOW TO GEL STAIN AN OLD ORANGE-STAINED PLANT STAND | YOUTUBE VIDEO

Hello creative friends and welcome back to another Trashy Treasure Tuesday! If you have an older piece of furniture with an orange toned stain – or ANY color stain you’re not happy with, gel stain can fix it right up! The best part is sanding down to bare wood is NOT required because gel stain works like paint and sits on top of an existing finish. Today I’m sharing how I turned this dated orange-stained plant stand into a gorgeous dark wood beauty in 5 easy steps.

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I’m also joining my TTT crew and sharing links to their projects below. I’m looking forward to seeing what they’ve created and I hope you join me on today’s tour as well!

Here is the thrifted wood plant stand I started with. It wasn’t that trashy but it did look very dated with the orange wood stain.

I found it at my local thrift store selling for $9.99 with 50% off. A steal of a deal for $5! Later in the post I’m sharing the same plant stand selling for $116 – and that’s the sale price.

THIS POST IS SPONSORED/CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS TO PRODUCTS I USE.  YOU CAN SEE MY FULL DISCLOSURE HERE.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Thrifted Plant Stand  – SALVAGED
White Lightning Cleaner
Sanding Sponge
Soft Rag/Towel
No Pain Gel Stain (Black)
Anchor All-In-One Silk Paint
Chip Brush
Gator Hide Top Coat

HOW TO APPLY GEL STAIN

To apply gel stain I like to start by gathering everything I’ll need –

• Gel Stain
• Stir Stick
• Gloves | Drop Cloth
• Applicator Brush, Rag, or Sponge
• Lint Free Rag or Shop Towel

STEP #1 CLEAN 

I started by removing the price tag using my heat gun and a painter’s tool. I don’t know what kind of glue is on these tags but they don’t budge. Maybe it’s so people don’t do swap tagging at the store. It’s a thing, I’ve seen it!

After the price tag was off, I gave this wood stand a good cleaning with White Lightening and then rinsed any residue off with a clean sponge and water.

STEP # 2 SCUFF SAND

Once dry, I scuff-sanded with a flexible 220-grit sanding sponge (flexible and awesome if you have rounded legs!) to create some tooth on the existing finish for better gel stain adhesion. The best part about using gel stain is you don’t have to sand to bare wood. Gel Stain is an oil-based tinted stain that works more like paint as it sits ON TOP of an existing finish. It is translucent and looks like a stain however it doesn’t penetrate the wood like a traditional stain does. This saves a TON of time! Once I finished scuff sanding, I removed the sanding dust and it was ready for gel stain application.

STEP #3 APPLYING THE GEL-STAIN

Now for the fun part! It’s time to play with some black gel stain and see if we can get rid of this orange-stained finish. I chose black to cut down on the orange finish. One coat of black usually gives an orange-stained finish a dark wood ‘look’ with warm undertones. I like applying the gel stain with a chip brush because it gives me a ‘painterly’ feel. Some people prefer using a sponge brush or lint-free rag to apply their gel stain. Any of the above will work nicely. Have some fun and try them all out to see which you prefer working with.

I work in manageable areas. A manageable area means different things for different people. If you have a large tabletop and are experienced using gel stains, a comfortable area for you may be half the entire top in one shot. If you have little to no experience, applying gel stain to one spindle could do the trick. Do what you feel comfortable with. I like following the structure of the piece. I did the top, and bottom shelf, then one spindle at a time.

I dipped my brush into the gel-stain and painted it onto the existing scuffed finish. I’m sharing how lovely this gel stain applies so you can see it in action in the YouTube video below.

STEP #4 WIPE OFF EXCESS

Using my shop towel, I wipe back the excess gel stain until I have a nice coat of it remaining. You can smooth it out as much or as little as you like. Just keep playing with it until you like the look. It’s also buildable. If the first coat is not dark enough, a second or third coat can be applied.

If you have any questions about gel-stains, I have a full Q&A Tutorial answering over 16 common questions on How To Apply Gel Stain To FINISHED Wood.

What a difference one coat makes. In the pic below, the top has been gel-stained and the bottom has not.

I like to go back in and apply a touch more gel stain in some areas. With a light touch using a chip brush, I brush it on lightly with very little on the brush and then wipe off the excess. I like doing this to add a little ‘faux’ wood grain.

STEP #5 TOP COAT / PROTECT

I waited 48 hours for my gel stain to dry. Then to protect this plant stand I used Gator Hide.  It’s easy to use. I make sure to give it a really good stir and mix it well. Then I applied it with an applicator sponge waiting 2 hours dry time between coats. Gator Hide is perfect for high-traffic furniture or a piece that may get wet like a plant stand. It’s super durable and water-repellant.

PAINTING THE BASE

Once I had the black gel stain brushed on and wiped back, I painted the base legs in Anchor Black All In One Mineral Paint.  It took two coats for full coverage. I also detailed the rim of the plant stand top and bottom shelf. This was a design choice and has nothing to do with the 5 steps of applying the gel stain so I’m listing it last. 🙂

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