How hard is it to restain a stand???

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Gr8KarmaSF

Gr8KarmaSF

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Im thinking about buying a used 300g. but I dont like the stand. The foot print is 3x6. How hard is it to restain a stand?:confused:

My understanding is that you first must sand it down, stain it with several coats, then seal it several times. Is this correct?:)

Any other words of advice?

Please help me out guys, this is a major factor in whether or not I buy this tank or not.:D

THANKS!
 
I redid my old 45 gal stand...............and it was a pita............It looked good when i was done with it but next time i am buying a stand, my time is worth more to me than saving a few bucks on a crappy stand!!!!!!!:D
 
Re-finishing wood can be a pain, and a huge mess. But if the piece is built well and not some laminated particle board it could be worthwhile. I redid a tired and scratched up grand piano for my church, the final results were nice but it is an effort. I used a chemical stripper to remove the old finish and expose the wood. Some of it took a couple of applications, but there was quite a few intricate parts (nooks a crannies). Most strippers are a mess to clean up and wipe off. Then a bit of sanding to smooth things out (the stripper will raise the grain). Then your choice of color stain, multiple coats aren't usually needed, nor does it make a big difference in color. And then finish, I'm a big fan of polyurethane. Light sanding between coats of poly. I usually use 3 or 4 coats.
 
My Grandfather operated a furniture restoration business years ago before everything was made of sawdust and glue. Most of what we did was hardwood antique furniture. For your application much of it will depend on the wood used, softer woods such as pine or fir (construction lumber) will soak up stain like a sponge and leave a blotchy uneven finish due to how porus they are. It can be difficult to re-finish soft woods for this reason. Hard woods are much easier, if your stand is lined with cabinet doors more than likely they are a hardwood laminate. Of all the hardwoods Oak can be the most difficult because of the deep grain. Maple, Walnut or Cherry are fairly easy to re-finish. The process is the same as listed above but Id recommend scrubbing your wood with Comet cleanser with bleach after stripping it, then sand. Be careful most cabinet doors today are laminate and it's easy to sand through this thin layer right into the particle board.
As mentioned, it can be a labor intensive process and might be easier to re-face your stand with new cabinet doors from Lowes or HD.

Most stands use a softwood lumber frame with a hardwood cabinet skin.
 
thanks guys. ill ask what type of wood the stand is made from of.
 
the seller thinks its oak and says...

It has a light stain on it already so with a light sanding i cant see why it wouldnt take a new stain.
Click to expand...

does this logic make sense?

heres a pic, what do you guys think?

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you wouldnt need to sand it if the stain you want is darker! but then you will not get the same efffect as told! but sanding can take a little bit to get down beneath the stain depending on how thickly the stain was applied! and if any glosses were applied! but a belt sander should fix that problem!
 
Hey just wanna say with mine in the past i just sandem down with an orbital sander then apply 3-5 coats of wattyl 2in1 stain & varnish.It looks good & costs less than having to buy stain & clear coat seperate.Good luck.
 
If the stand is the same as the canopy, it looks like red Oak from the picture.
 
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