How to Finish Bare Wood Furniture

Finish bare furniture for a custom look.

Wood furniture adds warmth to your décor and dresses up your room but stained and finished wood furniture can be pricey. Buying bare wood furniture is an attractive option for the handy do-it-yourselfer who wants a custom look and a quality finish. For the best results, find out a bit about the type of wood used to construct the furniture.

Things You'll Need

• 220-grit sanding paper
• Tack cloth
• Wood sealer (for high resin woods)
• Wood stain
• Stain applicator pad
• 400-grit sanding paper
• Polyurethane or varnish
• High-quality brush

Instructions

1. Sand the bare wood furniture with 220-grit sanding paper. Bare wood furniture comes pre-sanded but you may discover rough patches missed during the construction process.

2. Wipe away all traces of dust with a tack cloth and position the furniture on a large drop cloth or tarp.

3. Seal high-resin woods. Woods like pine and eucalyptus contain large amounts of resin that can prevent uniform staining. For these woods, apply a wood sealer with a brush to the surface of the wood and let it soak in. Do not wipe off.

4. Apply wood stain for a custom color. Wood stain comes in a variety of hues and you can stain inexpensive pine furniture to match the color of oak, black cherry or another more expensive hardwood. Spread stain on with an applicator pad. Leave it on until the wood reaches the desired shade and then wipe the residual wood stain off with soft absorbent rags.

5. Sand the furniture with 400-microgrit sanding paper after the stained wood is completely dry. The staining process can raise the wood grain slightly.

6. Wipe down the item with a tack cloth before applying the wood finish.

7. Brush on a thin coat of polyurethane or varnish, with a high-quality paintbrush, to the furniture's surface. Work on a single area at a time. To prevent lap mark, do an entire section, such as a shelf, or a table leg in one sitting.

8. Let the wood finish dry and buff off any bits of dust that may have settled on the item with 400-microgrit sanding paper. Add one or more additional coats of wood finish. Repeat the process until you get the shine and finish you like.

Tips & Warnings

• Remove as much dust as possible from the room before applying wood finish. Vacuum and wipe down walls and furniture surfaces.

• Don't throw away wet stain rags, which can spontaneously combust. Spread them out to dry and dispose of them in an outdoor metal waste container.

References

• "The Woodworker's Handbook"; Roger Horwood, 2003
• ArtSparx: Staining -- Wood, Furniture and Objects
• This Old House: Refinishing School; John D. Wagner