How to restain furniture?

MaddiC

Hi everyone, I’m hoping someone can help me out as a first-time DIYer. I’m hoping to completely sand and re-stain both of these pieces to make them quite dark. I got chat GPT to show me a rough picture of what the coffee will look like, which I’ve added here (the legs are a very dark purple-ish/maroon paint to match a stool I have, but I can decide if I want to paint the legs or leave them as the natural timber). If you could help me with the process and what to buy in terms of stains/polish etc. I will be so very grateful!!! 

EricL

Hello @MaddiC 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about staining wood.

The dark colour you've shown as a reference looks very much like a deep coat of Brown Japan or several deep coats of Walnut. Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell as we can't use screen captures to properly match stain colours and finish. I suggest visiting your local store and going to the paint department and looking at the stain and varnish sample board. You will be able to see the actual finish of the stain and its finish. You can therefore get as close as possible to the stain colour that you are after. Please remember that the more coats you apply the darker the finish will be.  

Your next step is to test the finish on your sanded surface. By applying one or two coats you'll be able to see the actual finish of the stain. If you are happy with the finish, you can then commit the entire table. In regards to the finish of the legs, this would be a personal choice, I would probably do it as a natural finish and have a dark top. This will give the table a nice two-tone finish and makes it stand out. 

I've placed a sample colour chart below to give you an idea of the colours available.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric