How to get table finish darker

August 21, 2022 9:56 AM

I am refinishing just the top of my dining table. I sanded it down and used two coats of Minwax oil-based stain and it’s not dark enough. I don’t think it will really absorb much more because the second coat didn’t get it that much darker. I’m thinking I could either top with a coat of gel stain or use a stain and poly combination product (Poly Shades). Any advice?
posted by HotToddy to Home & Garden (4 answers total)

Do not use poly shades. It sucks and is impossible to get even. Look into a spray on toner to adjust the color
posted by genmonster at 10:20 AM on August 21, 2022 [2 favorites]

Combination products won't get things deeper than just stain. My uncle sold antiques and sometimes used strong coffee to get a dark stain. Cheap-ass New Englander, but he sold some gorgeous pieces.
posted by theora55 at 11:06 AM on August 21, 2022 [1 favorite]

Test a bit of your finish on the underside to see if it darkens it enough. Finish usually makes things more saturated. If not, I would do a coat of a darker stain (testing first.) A single stain can only get so dark. You can also get stains custom made or tinted at the hardware store.

I've only had success with the poly stain as a top layer on products I didn't care about a perfect finish (going for a vintage look), or very small projects like trim. I agree it's really hard to get even on large surfaces.

This channel has a lot of videos that include addressing stain, especially to match original work to repairs. To darken he usually just does another layer. Spray toner is usually on small areas.
posted by Crystalinne at 1:32 PM on August 21, 2022

I’ve done a lot of wood finishing, including darkening the color of an already-stained piece. You need a stain that’s intended to sit on the surface. An option that you noted is our base gel stain. It is very easy to use; the downside is that it can obscure the grain more than conventional stains. Another product I’ve had good luck with is Zar multi-purpose stain, also oil based. It hides the grain less than gel stain and is also easy to use. You wipe it on like furniture polish and can achieve a fairly sheer coat. Once it dries, you can deepen the color further by doing another coat…the more you use, the less transparent it becomes.

I agree with genmonster the Poly shades isn’t a good choice because it’s very hard to avoid lap marks, even if you have a good amount of experience.
posted by wryly at 8:27 PM on August 22, 2022