HELP!!!!! Need to darken the stain on a new headboard I bought!!!!

Hello all! I just got a great deal on a brand new Queen Headboard at the Clearance section of a major furniture outlet! Here's a link to the piece:

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need help though! The headboard is "Made of cherry hardwoods and veneers, with a rich chocolate cherry finish." The problem is... I want to change it to a dark brown "espresso" style finish! I know that since the finish I want is darker than the existing one that it will make it easier but I have a few questions.

  1. There seems to be a lacquer or shellac over top of the stain. I'm assuming that I have to remove this before I can even think about darkening the stain. What do I use?

  1. If I can get to the point where I have removed what I mentioned above... can I just stain right over the cherry finish with a darker brown stain? I believe the headboard finish is veneer and don't want to sand if I don't have to.

  2. If I get to the point where I have achieved my desired stain color...what should I use to protect the finish? Lacquer? Any suggestions including brand names would be greatly appreciated.

Any help from anybody is also greatly appreciated ! I'm a total newbie at this and want to surprise my fiance' with a beautiful new headboard!

Reply to
retoronto
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then leave it alone!!!You will only ruin it

Len

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Reply to
leonard

Thanks. Anybody wanna actually HELP me?

Reply to
retoronto

This is NOT a beginner's project. Buy 10 more of them and keep trying. One of them is likely to turn out all right.

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> I need help though! The headboard is "Made of cherry hardwoods and

Reply to
CW

Hate to say it, but I agree. I made and finished my own queen size mission style white oak bed frame, but I wouldn't take on the project you described, unless the piece was really "disposable". (i.e. if I messed up, I could slap on a few thick coats of paint and give it away). Seriously, even if this was done professionally (which would almost certainly cost more than you paid for the headboard), I can't imagine it coming out very well - the veneers are probably VERY thin, so any sanding would carry the probability of sanding through the veneer and seriously messing up the look of the piece. Depending on the style, you might be able to just put new veneer over the top of the old stuff, and sand/refinish the solid cherry pieces (which are probably just the trim pieces), but even that would be easy to mess up. I'm very sorry to discourage you; I'm usually all for a DIY project. However, since you seem pretty attached to this headboard, and since many slight mistakes could cause irreparable cosmetic damage, I'd say it's probably not worth taking chances unless you're really willing to take a chance on messing it up. If it was REALLY cheap, maybe you could buy another one for practice - what dissolves their finish? How much scraping/sanding/wirebrushing is necessary to remove it? How does the veneer look after all that? But I wouldn't mess with a total refinish unless you're willing to lose it. The only alternative I can think of might be spraying on some sort of tinted glaze and finishing over that, but that could obscure any visible wood grain, and you'd need a lot of test pieces that start out finished exactly like the new headboard - I think it'd be almost impossible to get a color match right the first time. To sum up, I'd either:

1.)learn to enjoy the headboard with its current color, 2.) look for a new one in the color you want, or 3.) build your own, which would allow you to play with finishes on scrap, and re-make or repair any mistakes. Good luck, Andy
Reply to
Andy

Based on the replies, I'd add,

The best way to get out of trouble is not to get into it in the first place.

Old Guy

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> I need help though! The headboard is "Made of cherry hardwoods and

Reply to
Old guy

it alone!!!You will only ruin it

First rule of finishing is that if you don't practice on scrap you're practicing on your project. So you might want to pick a s[pot a bit less conspicuous than the headboard to start with.

I suggest wiping it with some denatured alcohol. If that does not lift the finish, then it will be safe to go over the existing finish with shellac. Then try a little shellac on the spot you cleaned. If it sticks, you're in like Flynn.

The advantage of using shellac on top of the existing finish is that no matter how bad you mess it up, you can scrub off the shellac with a cloth and alcohol to get back to the factory finish.

So if those two tests are successful you can get some acohol- based dyes and use those over the existing finish to get what you want. There a couple of places that sell those online, you mix them into the shellac. A less refined grade of shellac, called button lac, may be the color you want, it is commonly used on stringed instruments.

Of course you will also have to learn the details of how to mix and apply shellac.

If shellac lifts the underlying finish then you may still be able to go over the existing finish with a water-based finish with water soluble dye in it. Minwax sells these pre-mixed. The existing finish will have to be roughed up with very fine sandpaper to give the top coat 'root'. But that will NOT be easily reversible. If you don't like it or it doesn't work you'll be stuck stripping, scraping, and.or sanding down to bare wood--then you refinish it however you like.

Again, it is best to practice on scrap. With a little practice on scrap, your opinion of the factory finish might improve.

Reply to
fredfighter

Reply to
nospambob

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