You need a smooth surface with no blemishes because stain will highlight scratches and dings in the wood. Always sand down to clean wood (if you have enough meat left of the wood) before applying any stain.
In respect to this, can you stain over old wood?
Unfinished wood is often sealed with a polyurethane finish or another sort of topcoat, and in this case, you can’t stain the wood, but you can use a colored coating to change the color of the wood.
Thereof, can you Restain wood without sanding?
Why PolyShades®? Minwax® PolyShades® is an easy way to change the color of your currently stained or polyurethane finished wood. There’s no stripping or heavy sanding necessary to remove the old finish!
Can you use acetone to clean wood before staining?
To improve the bonding or speed the drying, wipe the surface of the wood with acetone just before applying the glue or finish. … And because acetone is miscible with mineral spirits, it’s very useful for speeding the cleaning of varnish, oil-stain and oil-glaze brushes before washing in soap and water.
