How To Strip and Stain Wood

A few weeks ago Jill from One Good Thing By Jillee 's daughter in-law asked me to refinish her dining table and chairs... as soon as I saw it I knew I'd be up for the job. I LOVE tables like this, big and chunky with cute, dainty chairs.

I'll be honest, staining is not one of my favorite things to do! :) I LOVE the end result, but the process can be rough. HOWEVER, don't be discouraged! I finally found some paint strippers that I can't believe I've lived without for so long! It makes the process much more doable!

So why do I stain if I despise it so much? Well, this might sound crazy, but in this weird DIY mind of mine, there's nothing like taking an old piece of furniture, removing all the nasty, clumpy layers of paint, then seeing that bare surface and bringing it back to life with a beautiful stain. I know, I'm crazy, but if you've refinished before you SO know what I mean! :)

On to the good stuff...

HOW TO Strip and Stain Wood

Supplies:

Paint Stripper
Paint brush
Bowl
Plastic putty knife. (Metal ones can easily scratch the surface. I use them only if I HAVE to.)
Wire stripper brush (in the paint tools section)
Clean rags (Lots of them. Preferably that can be thrown away.)
Denatured Alcohol (next to the paint thinner) opt.
Electric Sander (opt.)
Sand Paper, Medium and Fine grit.
Stain
Sealer (I like Minwax Polyurethane)
Foam brush or roller


1. Stripping. Let me tell you a little about this before we start. A lot of paint removers are fast acting which seems appealing. I've worked with a lot of them and let me tell you these are not fun to work with! They end up in SUCH a gooey mess it's unbelievable! After doing a lot of research on them I decided to test out the two I thought looked like the best.

First off, Citristrip. It's nice because it's sold at Home Depot and so it's very convenient if you live close to one.

Next up, Smart Strip, sold in various stores including Sherwin Williams.

Both are comparable in pricing and safe for the environment. My favorite part: they don't burn your skin within .2 seconds of touching it. In fact, they don't burn at all! Honestly, I can't tell you which one I like better yet. So far they seem similar, just different in textures. They both reacted great to different surfaces that I've stripped. I'm sure one of these days I'll decide which one I like better, but for now, look at the bright side, you have options! :)

Ok, so here we go...

*Place stripper into a glass bowl and using your paint brush apply in 1/4in thickness. Let sit for 3-24 hours. It starts working immediately, but I like to let it sit at least 6 hours. Check on it every couple hours to make sure it's not drying on the surface. If it has dried you probably haven't put a thick enough coat on it.

2. Using your plastic putty knife, start scraping the stripper working with the grain. Scrape until you can't scrape anymore.

3. Here's where your wire bristle brush becomes your best friend, especially if the surface has a lot of crevices. Using the brush, start scrubbing with the grain of the wood to scrape off any remaining paint, varnish or remover that's left on the wood. Again, scrub until you can't anymore. If there's still a little paint left, no worries. If it's still pretty thick you can apply a second coat. If there's just a little remaining, don't worry about it! If you NEED to you can try scraping with a metal putty knife, but again, be careful!

4. Use a rag to wipe off the surface, then if necessary, put a little denatured alcohol on the rag and wipe it clean. Let dry.

5. Depending on the condition of the wood, use your electric sander with the appropriate grit to sand down the surface. If it's in great condition and all paint/stain has been removed, use a fine grit. If any paint, stain or anything else is left use a medium. In some cases you might need to start out with coarse, but try to stay away from that. You always want to move down in grit also. So if you've used coarse, go over it with a medium, followed by fine. If you just used medium, follow it with fine. Continue sanding until surface is down to bare wood and nice and smooth. I usually rub sand paper over what I've done with the electric sander just to make sure it's all perfect.

6. Once your surface is bare wood, clean it really well and make sure all the dust is removed.

7. Using a clean rag or paint brush, apply your well-mixed stain to the wood in even strokes covering the entire surface. Follow the directions of the stain on the back of the can, but usually it sits 5-15 minutes. Wipe off the stain with another clean rag. DO NOT LET THE STAIN DRY!!! It WILL make the surface sticky and you'll have to use mineral spirits to clean it off.

8. If you want your piece darker, apply a second coat of stain waiting the appropriate amount of time in between coats and following the directions above again.

9. After your stain is completely dry (again, check the directions) you'll want to coat it with a sealer. I like Minwax Polyurethane. It's an oil based sealer and very durable. Follow the directions on the can as well. Give your piece a few coats, waiting appropriate amount of time in between coats.

I apologize if these directions are overly detailed, but when I'm learning something new I like to know every possible thing I should expect to or not to happen! :) If you have any questions, I'd love to help!

-Ashley