Tried to refinish my oak table and it looks like a zebra now

Used Minwax dark walnut stain over a polyurethane coat I didn't fully strip off. Thing has blotches everywhere. Sanded twice already. Should I just paint over it or try stripping again with citrus strip? Hoping someone's done this before and can tell me if paint will even stick now.

3 comments

3 Comments

mileslane2d ago

Grains 101... you stripped the factory finish unevenly so the stain soaked in deep in some spots and barely touched others. Paint will stick if you scuff sand with 220 grit and use a bonding primer first, but that zebra look will still ghost through if you skip a shellac-based sealer. Whole thing's probably faster to sand down to bare wood with a random orbital sander and start fresh with a prestain conditioner before the next coat.

hannahcraig2d agoMost Upvoted

Stripping factory finish unevenly is such a pain, I feel that. Reminds me of when I tried to refinish a dresser my grandma gave me and used the wrong stripper. Ended up with this weird patchy mess that looked like a painted cow pattern for weeks until I just gave up and threw a tablecloth on it.

fisher.thomas2d ago

Has anyone tried using a gel stain on that kind of patchy mess instead of sanding it all down? It sits on top of the wood and covers uneven spots way easier than a regular stain.