Re: Can you put stain over stained wood?

[DM]

I just finished remodeling my down stairs. Put in a full bath and since the vanity and cabinet had clear laqure on them, I put the same on the trim and used a medium dark stain in the hallway and other rooms. Now the trim in the bathroom looks kindof unfinished. What I want to know is if I can just restain it with the darker stain? Or will that make it.....not look right?
Thanks.

I assume your talking about putting it over the laqure... If that's the case, it won't ever penetrate the wood, but will sit on the finish that's already there...

Your best chance to get it to look half decent, would be to try a "gell" stain. They go over other finishes the best, and how much you wipe off after applying it, determines how dark it ends up being...

DM

[flatwater]

You can but it won't be the color you thought it should be. If you go dark over light it will work somewhat but light over dark just makes it darker. And if the original coat was a stain sealer then that makes the second application almost useless.
Flatwater

[msta999]

Thanks, that is kind of what I thought. I will have to just remove it and replace it. I went with the clear lacquer, since it is clear lacquer on the cabinets so I thought it would be a good match to use on the trim. Now the trim just looks like it is not finished.

[madmac]

Wood finishes will change a little over time making them hard to match so it is usually best to strip off the old and refinish everything to get the desired look. Even clear finishes are hard to match as the old finish will usually turn darker with age giving the newly finished wood the unfinished look.