Can I put a dark glaze over honey colored furniture?

Question

I have a dining room set of light wood, honey colored, kind of orangey. I want to darken it up...maybe like a walnut or ebony. I am thinking of mixing either black or brown paint with a glaze and just painting over it. I want the woodgrain to show through. Do you think this will work? Or, could I just rub a stain on top of the existing finish?

Answer 1

I would look into some "gel" stains

The glaze idea might work well too and possibly the gel may mix with the glaze you have or find. Maybe you could also try something more translucent to pigment the glaze with instead of paint. How about the colorants they sell to mix into paints? Or a water based stain if the glaze is water based?

The more opaque a colorant you use the more you will hide the grain of the wood. So do some tests areas and see what you like. You may want to hide the wood grain and have a more solid color look in which case use the paint. You also may need to rough up the surface a bit with a fine sand paper so what you use adheres well.

Answer 2

I would test an inconspicuous spot first.  I'm sure it would work, but what if you get started and don't like it?  Try it first on the underside of the table or somewhere it won't be seen if you change your mind.