Share
Walnut side table which was stained to black but I have moved house and want to go back to walnut colour. Unsure if to sand, heat strip, paint strip? But seek to make look good. TIA
Hi @Aedp1,
If your walnut side table was stained black, then unfortunately paint strippers or heat guns won’t be effective—those methods only work on surface coatings like varnish or paint. Stains actually soak into the timber, so the only way to remove them is by sanding the surface back until you reach fresh, unstained wood.
However, there's something important to consider before you start sanding: many walnut tables, especially side tables, aren’t made from solid walnut. They’re often a veneer—a very thin layer of walnut over a different core material. If that’s the case, and the black stain has penetrated deeply, sanding too much can take you right through the veneer and ruin the table surface.
If you're unsure whether it's solid or veneered, try checking underneath or at an edge where you might be able to see the thickness of the walnut layer. If it's veneer, proceed with extreme care and only do a light sand to improve the appearance rather than fully removing the stain.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
