You must remove varnish from the table before you apply stain.
You can rejuvenate the appearance of your dining room table by refinishing it with the appropriate coatings. Unfortunately, if you dive into the project without the proper know-how, you could end up damaging the very surface you are attempting to restore. Dining room tables are coated with a protective, high-gloss varnish or polyurethane wood sealer coating, meant to enhance the table's appearance and protect the surface from scratches. You must eliminate this coating by sanding it a particular way, or you will end up marring the table with scratches.
Instructions
1. Move the dining room table outdoors or to an open garage.
2. Clean the dining room table with dish soap, using wet rags. Dry the table with towels.
3. Remove the polyurethane or varnish finish from the dining room table by sanding with a palm sander, stocked with 220-grit sandpaper. Be sure to sand along with the wood grain. Stop when the finish appears dull.
4. Eliminate sawdust by wiping the table down with tack cloths.
5. Cover areas you don't want stained with painter's tape and drop cloths.
6. Coat the dining room table with an oil-based stain, using a paintbrush for oil paint. Use clean rags to wipe excess stain from the table. Wait no less than six hours for the stain to dry.
7. Wash the paintbrush with mineral spirits.
8. Coat the stained dining room table with varnish or polyurethane wood sealer, using the clean brush. Wait six hours before setting anything on the table.
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