Bedroom furniture stain/varnish

[John93]

Hi All

I have a king bed and 2 side tables which has milk stains (thanks to our Toddler :D) and I want to stain/varnish it to give it a new look. (Photos attached)

The timber has a grain pattern so kinda hard to sand it. 

1. Which product can I use and what is the method to apply ?
2. If I use stain and varnish will it seal the milk stains as it is or will the stain get covered ?
3. If it's a stain to be used which colour would that be ? (Walnut ?)

Thank You

[JacobZ]

Hi @John93,

Unfortunately, you can't apply a different coloured stain over an existing one as they work by soaking into the timber and altering the colour of the wood fibres. If you wanted to alter the colour of your bedroom furniture, you would need to sand it back to remove the existing stain and then replace it. 

In saying this, it looks like your furniture might have timber veneers, which would mean sanding them back is unlikely to be possible due to the thin nature of the veneers.

If you look at the corners and edges of the furniture, do you see a thin veneer on the outside? 

If they are veneers, then unfortunately, we will have to look at other options.

Would giving the furniture a good clean to remove the stains, then polishing it to restore the surface, be an option?

If so, you could use a heavy duty scrub brush with Cabot's wood surface cleaner to remove the stains. Once clean, you can use OCedar Furniture Polish to restore and beautify the surface.

I understand it is not what you had hoped, but transitioning from one stain to another is not a simple process, and it is further complicated if they are veneers, as I suspect. 

I am happy to work with you on other solutions if this one does not suit.

Let me know what you think.

Jacob

[John93]

Hi jacob

i can confirm it’s not Vaneer. It’s solid acacia and I’m not looking to alter the colour. 

I want to paint/cover the milk stains on the timber. What would be the best product for that and the process ?

[JacobZ]

Hi @John93,

If you used paint, you could certainly go over the milk stains without any issues because it would be covering them, but if you wanted to use a stain, which soaks into the timber, you would likely still see the milk stains as the stain wouldn't soak in evenly.

If you wanted to use paint, you would need to give the surface a good clean with sugar soap before priming with a high adhesion primer such as Dulux PRECISION White Maximum Strength Adhesion Primer, before applying two coats of paint.

If you wanted to use a stain, unfortunately, to be certain of success, you would need to sand the surface to remove the milk stains as a minimum, and the stain if you weren't aware of what product was used. Once sanded, you could use a stain and varnish in a colour of your choosing.

You could always try applying a stain over the milk stains, but i'd be surprised if it didn't show through. If you wanted to be sure of things, either paint it or sand it back to bare timber so you can restain it.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob