Should I stain this pew or strip the old stain and stain again?

Question

I purchased a wonderful 4' antique church pew at a sale. It needs new stain though as the stain has been "weathered" apparently. It has never been painted or anything. I have never refinished anything in my life, so need some assistance and advice, please. First, what products would you recommend?...and what method do I resort to? Do I strip the stain that is already on the pew? Or is that not necessary and I just need to stain over the stain that is already on it? Thanks for any information you can give me as I want to get started on this to actually have it placed in my entryway. Thank you!

Answer 1

If the stain is only worn out in spots, then staining over it is going to give you the same spots with your finish coat.  I also assume the stain was coated in a protective varnish, which stain will not penetrate down into the wood.

For easier results, sand the whole thing down until the color looks even and uniform and restain it.

For best looking results, get a stain stripper and strip the stain and varnish off the whole thing.

I would HIGHLY discourage you from putting any stain on the pew without sanding or stripping.

Answer 2

Keep in mind if this pw is antique and you refinish it..You will drastically decrease what it is worth..I would check with a reputable antique dealer to see it's worth first..but to stain something over a previous stained and varnished wood you must STRIP IT COMPLETELY first...The grain is sealed  and stain is a penetrative product...A new stain will not actually take and simply layer over the top of the old stain ..as well it may not dry at all and stay tacky due to the "surface application"..If you have never stripped anything before..keep in mind this is a very dirty job to do and alot of time..as well on alot of furniture type products the stripper may very well eat the glue up in any joints that are used like dowels, plugs, mortise and tenons, which are quite popular on older furnitures...Please do check with an antique dealer first though..for as I mentioned above, you may decrease the value of it