Have you ever tried stripping and sanding an old piece of furniture so you could restain it? It’s soooo much work! Is there an easier way? Can you stain over stained wood? Yes you can!! We show you how to make stain darker on wood without stripping or sanding.
The before – light stairs before making stain darker on wood
These are the stairs from the main floor to the basement of our house. When we bought the house, the hardwoods upstairs were a very unattractive red. Our floor refinisher said the only option was to go darker to cover the natural red tone of the wood. So we did. But since these stairs only led to the basement, we opted not to have them professionally stained dark at the same time.
Fast forward a couple years and we were ready to tackle these stairs to match the rest of the floors in our house. Luckily we knew just how to make stain darker on wood by using stain over stained wood!
The process – stain over stained wood
This process works for any wood surface that has previously been stained, whether it’s a piece of furniture, stairs or even a countertop. We’ve also used Cottage Paint’s Color & Seal to stain over stained wood, which you can read about here.
Step 1 – clean the wood surface
We cleaned the stairs with a TSP alternative. Make sure to go over the wood surface with a damp cloth to remove any residue of the cleaning solution because you don’t want it to compromise your finish.
Step 2 – light scuff
Okay, I know I said there’s no sanding involved but it IS a good idea to do a very light scuffing of the wood surface with a medium grit sandpaper. You do not need to sand off the previous stain and finish. The purpose of the light sanding is to give a little tooth to the surface to help your new stain colour stick.
Step 3 – remove all dust
We used a damp cloth followed by tack cloth to make sure we removed all the dust before we applied our stain. Even if you can’t see the dust particles, they’re there! Making sure your wood stairs are as clean and dust free as possible before you begin staining will really help get the best finish possible.
Step 4 – tape the risers and sides
If you are only staining the stair treads like us, you will need to use painter’s tape to tape off the risers and the side of the staircase so you don’t get any stain on them. Ok, you’ll probably still get a little stain on them but it will be much easier to touch up quickly with paint if you’ve used tape.
Step 5 – stain stairs darker
We used Fusion Mineral Paint’s Stain & Finishing Oil (SFO) in Cappuccino to stain over our stained wood stairs. To apply the SFO, you will need:
- Fusion’s Stain & Finishing Oil
- Applicator pad or lint free rag
- Chip or foam brush
- Small stir stick or plastic spoon
Begin by stirring the tin of SFO. Don’t shake the tin because it will create air bubbles that can carry through onto the wood you are staining.
Using a chip or foam brush, apply the stain in the same direction as the grain. Depending on how opaque you want the stain, you can leave it as is or you can use your lint free rag to wipe back the stain until you get the stain colour you are happy with. The longer you wait before wiping back the stain, the more of it will stay on when you wipe. Even without wiping off any of the stain, you will still be able to see the wood grain come through.
Step 6 – let dry
If you are happy with the colour after one coat, then you are done! If you’d like the stairs to be a little darker, add another coat of the stain over the stained wood.
Pro tip: If you need to use your stairs within 24 hours, only do every other stair at a time so you can step over the fresh stained stairs to get up and down while you wait for them to dry.
The great part about SFO is that it has a built in top coat and you do not need to apply anything else to protect your stained wood finish!
The final step is to remove the painter’s tape and make any touch ups to the risers and sides of the stairs. We used Benjamin Moore’s Cloud White (which is the colour on all the trim in our house) to touch up the areas where the stain bled a bit under the painter’s tape.
The after – wood stairs stained darker
We hope you’ve learned how easy it is to stain stairs or stain wood darker. By applying stain over stained wood, you can completely change the look of your wood surface without a lot of preparation or a tonne of mess. Our basement staircase now matches the rest of the wood in our house and we couldn’t be happier. Have you tried to stain over stained wood? Have you stained stairs? Do you have any tips or tricks for how to make stain darker on wood? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Want more? We shared some tips, along with other experts, for 21 easy DIY home improvements here on the Redfin Blog!
Does this process work if the original finish has a varnish on it?
Hi Dorothea, yes, if you give it a light scuffing with sandpaper it should work just fine. Thanks for asking!
What ratio do you use with the stain and finish?
Hello, the stain and finishing oil is premixed in a tin. We stir it gently and apply. Hope this helps!
Hi, I just stumbled on your website as I have a 1925 house that I bought three years ago and needless it has been abused, used and put out wet as the saying goes. I am slowly but putting her back together. The original wood floors have had the old varnish on it and now it is wearing away. The varnish might have been light but with so many years it has aged to a dark color. I love the dark color because I grew up in a 1896 house in Texas and had hardwood dark floors. I was wondering because the wood might be fragile if I can go over it with your product. I am thinking I will be covering living room and dining room (roughly 288 square feet) and a tiny hall (roughly 40 square feet). I have done the front porch in a Espresso Bamboo planking. I was wondering if you have ever tried old OLD hardwood flooring without sanding. I could send pictures of what I am looking at. Also, I have old, old wooden doors that are in very sad shape an am wondering if you have done this and could give me some pointers. No I am not a contractor, I am a Texas gal (71 years young) learning and loving every minute/second…:) . Thank you so much.
Hi Charlotte, sounds like an exciting project! We haven’t tried this on really old hardwood flooring. Proper prep to make sure there are no loose bits is essential. We’d suggest you reach out to the manufacturer and ask for their recommendations. Good luck!
How has it held up after a few months of foot traffic?
Our stairs take a lot of abuse and they still look the same as the day we finished the project! Thanks for asking!
I followed your instructions to the letter to stain stairs to match the rest of the flooring. start looked like your start and after two coats, they don’t look any different. frustrated !
Would you recommend Borax as a good TSP substitute?
Hi Kimmy, we haven’t used Borax for our prep but it should work as a TSP substitute. You’ll want to make sure all residue is removed before applying your finish. Thanks for the great question!
We got our hallway and stairs finished and they look so beautiful. Thanks for the tips and advice.
Awesome! Thanks so much for commenting!
sounds to good to be true- we have a large oak staircase that has been coated with natural stain and likely at least a few coats of fabulon oil based top coat
stairs are showing some wear on treads but just want to darken the colour of treads rises and oak spindles /handrail
you really think it could be done without removing the previous finish completely?
i could email a photo if that helps
thanks dave
Hi Dave, it does seem to good to be true but as long as you’ve cleaned and lightly sanded, it should work! Good luck!
We have pets and children, can we use this product now in February while doors and windows are closed?
Hi Jill, it has no odour, and from what I’ve read on Fusion, it should be safe. You can read more about it here: https://fusionmineralpaint.com/stain-finishing-oil/ Good luck!
We just had new wood floors and stairs out in. Our veteran floor person issued white oak fir floors and landings and red oak fir the stairs. The stain looks noticeably different on the stairs. Any thoughts on using this process on making the stairs match the floors? ;(
Hi Gina, I’m sorry to hear that! You would definitely need to test it out on some scrap pieces. There’s no reason it wouldn’t work, but matching stain colours can be very tricky so it might take some trial and error. Good luck!
Hi, Jill,
We are re-doing our white oak floors with Fusions SFO. I’m a little worried about the kitchen area as it is a high-traffic area. I’d hate to do all this work and have the floors get worn down. So, two questions: If they do wear down a little can I just brush over so so and wipe it down and two do you suggest Fusions non-yellowing top coat. We don’t want a shiny floor. THanks for your advice!!
Hi Joyce, SFO does have a built in sealer so we’ve never used an additional top coat with it. Our stairs still look the same as they did when we first refinished them. We’ve never tested SFO in a high traffic area like a kitchen so we can’t say for certain how it would hold up. If you do have some wear, there’s no reason applying more SFO wouldn’t work. It won’t, however, remove scratches. Good luck!
Do you think using a liquid sander would work before using that stain product? Was thinking it would be easier for the railings. I’ve never used it, and really don’t want to mess up my stairs. Haha
Great tutorial! I ordered the stain and am looking forward to giving my steps an update.
Hi Sara, thanks so much! We’ve never tried it with a liquid sander. I would assume it would remove the gloss and help the stain grip, but you would need to really make sure all traces were removed before applying the final product so you don’t have have a chemical reaction. Let us know how it goes!
Hi. This was helpful. Can you do this on dining room table and chairs? Is it food grade safe?
Hi Seema, Fusion doesn’t recommend using it on surfaces that come into contact with food. We used it on our kitchen table and since fully curing, we are comfortable eating food that might accidentally make contact. Hope this helps!
Hi, I have sfo painted stairs but want to redo with just fashion paint , one of the new colours, hazel wood. Can I just clean, light sand and paint?
Thanks Ann
Fushion mineral paint..not fashion paint ..
we have stained stairs – they are currently the colour of red wine. we are desperate to cover it up (also all door frames and window frames, and they contrast to other moulding that have been done in a ‘distressed teal’) – we are trying to get to a dark walnut colour and wondering if you would have any suggestions. we had wondered if using a green stain might get us to brown (using colour theory of red + blue + yellow = brown), but perhaps we’re better off starting with a brown stain to begin with.
Any suggestions or ideas are welcome
Hi Susan, red is definitely a tricky colour to cover up! I would recommend you try the darker stain on a small area and see if you like the look. Good luck!
I just wanted to thank you on guiding me on how to stain my yellow oak stairs. I followed your instructions and products you mentioned and BOY OH BOY do my stairs look so wonderful! A friend of mine said it looks like it was professionally done! again thank you for your guidance!
Awesome! I’m so glad it worked well for you.
Hi! I am trying to stain a table darker that was the same color as your stairs started at. Will this stain over stain method work if I get a different kind of stain like an oil stain or one without a top coat mixed in? I’m excited but we’re also trying to do this project on the cheap while still having it look good, so I’d just like to know if it would make a huge difference.
Hi Sophia, you can use any darker stain but it will need a top coat to be durable on a table top. Good luck!
I think I may be confused as to how much stain to put on and how much to wipe off. I have applied the stain, waited 15 – 20 minutes and then wiped off the excess and it seems to all come off. Hardly any difference from the original color. Please advise.
Try to leave some on and not wipe it all off. You can experiment a bit and see which combo gives you the look you want. Good luck!
Hi, I’ve need searching the internet for days looking for an inexpensive makeover that could be done very quickly since I have a severely autistic adult daughter , that walks the stairs at least 10 times in a 24 hour period. With my situation and small budget, this is a lifesaver for me beyond what you can imagine. You gave me a renewed sense of looking at my stairs instead of wanting to give up on the red oak color. I will not have the option of every other stair or to keep the kids and pets off the stairs for 24 hours. I have an 8 max time limit. So my plan is to do the prep the day/night before and the next day tidy up the stairs for staining and then move like lightening with one coat only. I’ll place two fans directed at my stairs on high. One tilted down the stairs and one tilted up the stairs and hope it’s not a humid day I choose. I’m new to all blogs and obviously yours. Thank you so much!!! You helped me out more than you’ll ever know????
Thanks for the detailed description of your stair project, and answering questions after all this time since posting. I’m about to do the same, but will do 2-3 coats. For the stairs shown, how many 237ml cans did you use?