How do I refinish a cherry wood coffee table?
To correct the previous answer, Cherry is not a soft wood. Cured cherry is hard enough to bounce bullets off of. You are going to have to use a paint stripper to get the present finish off. That might also remove the stain. strip it clean and if it needs to be restained, get a penetrating stain (do not use MinWax) which has NO universal colorants that can be picked up by either the varnish or the laquer that you are going to use. Cherry will not take a deep stain easily because it is so hard. You might not have to stain it at all. Sanding it smooth is a prerequisite to any finishing. Start with about a 150 grit and then go to a 200 or 400 (all three might be necessary). I use laquer but only because I have the equipment. If you use varnish, which might take 8-12 hours to dry, you will pick up every bug and every particle of dust in the house. Find out how to use a spray gun, take it outside in the drive way, and put on about 8-10 thin coats of gloss laquer. That will be dry about 10 mi
