How to Stain Over Wood Stain

I’m about to show you a super easy way to stain over existing wood stained furniture.

BEFORE

BEFORE in Golden Oak

I really wanted my Amish-made cabinet to better match my bedroom furniture. I needed to make it darker, so I knew I wanted a walnut stain. I didn’t feel like stripping and sanding, so I did what I’ve done for 20 years now when wanting to stain wood furniture darker— grab this gel stain in whatever color you want. I chose Antique Walnut.

TO PREP:

Just make sure the piece you’re going to stain is clean and dry.

Add your stain to a sock or brush and start applying directly to the piece.

Sorry this is blurry- I grabbed it from a video

Wipe the stain all over and then make sure you finish the final swipes with by going with the grain of the wood. This is a gel stain, so while you can still see the grain through, it is thicker like paint.

This piece had poly on it, as most pieces i’ve done gel stain over in the last 20 years, and I didn’t have to sand the poly. I never have. I also don’t poly non-high traffic furniture like this. If it was a staircase, table, or chair, for example, I would.

I lost one of the oak knobs, so I still have to replace those. This project went very fast! Instant gratification and giving new life to furniture that is outdated, and making it a piece you can love again, is my jam.