www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

We've had a chest serving as a coffee table for a very long time. Bought it from an independent furniture store, it was originally stained a very dark brown. I'm attempting to freshen it up a bit - my intention is to re-stain the top in a lighter brown and paint the remainder in a grey or something like that. So, I've started by sanding the stain off the top - some elbow grease and some palm sander. Got to be honest, it's looking a bit rough, so I'm looking for advice. It hasn't sanded to a uniform colour. I have no idea what wood it is - seems harder than pine, and has the sort of finish than you get with aged teak, although I doubt a furniture maker would have stained teak with a very dark brown. How far do I need to go with the sanding? Do I need to try and get rid of these different shades and blemishes? I guess it's because the stain has gone really deep into the grain. And ultimately what colour stain should I be looking at, given that perhaps the sanded finish will be a bit variable. I've attached photos - you can see the colour of the original stain on the hinges. Thanks for any advice.

I think it is a mahogany which is a hard wood. The thing with previously stained wood is that if you apply a fresh stain it will end up patchy as the absorption rates will vary as you can never get the old stuff right out the grain where it soaked in well. My advice is paint the whole thing and a two tone grey, with the top darker than the sides, will look very modern. You will need a hard finish for the top so you may have to paint or spray a clear coat of lacquer to protect the surface.

DWD