How to stain an antique dresser?

Question

The drawers are stuck but i would like to put in in a bedroom and sit a tv on it would mini wax work do i need to sand first it is solid wood

Answer 1

I just began refinishing some antique bedroom furniture myself.  If the old varnish is in good shape, just use some wood cleaner.  Any hardware store will carry wood refresher.  I know that TV guy Billy Mays has a hardwood refinisher that you just wipe on.  

However, if the finish is shot, I used a spray product called Citristrip.  It's orange-based and it works great!  Spray the foam on, wait about a half hour, and take a plastic putty spatula and -gloop gloop!-, it sloughs right off!  Then wipe it down with mineral spirits to clean off  whatever is left, then you can restain and shine it up and you're good to go.  It's a project but that foam is the best stuff I've used.  It's really not work intensive at all.  Plus it is really satisfying to just scrrrrrrape that old yucky varnish right off!  

Staining it is not hard either.  Choose the color you want, use a staining pad (easier and less messy than a paintbrush), and finish with some polyurethane or tung oil.  A friend gave me the tip to finish with a very light coat of carnuba wax (the kind you use on a car!) and a buffing cloth, to keep the wood shiny and healthy.

** If you really want to keep it easy, and a regular wood refresher isn't working, go over the wood (go with the grain) with a very light sandpaper, and use a gel stain (obviously in a darker shade than the current stain) to just intensify the color.  Then finish like I said above.  (make sure you use a tack cloth to get the sanding dust off before you put any finish down, or else you'll get little granules stuck in your varnish)

Best of luck!