Hello. I'd like to stain my 8 year old china cabinet a darker color. Most of the piece is glass. It only has wood from top to bottom at all four corners and also in two strips in the center of the front.

The cabinet is stained in a matted manner, i.e., it is not shiny. I'd like to make the walnut color into a dark espresso color.

I guess I should sand it, clean it, and simply stain it in the darker color. Is that correct? Does water- or oil-based stain matter? How can I tell? Also ... if there are little rubber strips inside of each piece of glass, does that mean I can remove them when while I'm staining? Is remove them highly difficult? Has anyone else re-stained a china cabinet?

Thank you.
Betty

You will not be able to use a regular stain on this if it has a finish on it now as the stain will be able to penetrate into the wood. You will need to use a product such as Minwax Polyshades hwich is stain and polyurethane together and it is made for this type of situation. You can sand it lightly to smooth it out and to make sure the polyshade adhears, and be sure to wipe the sanding dust off with a rag dampened with mineral spirits to be sure there is not any wax or such on it.

I am not sure about removing the glass but I would think it could be removed.

Hope this helps out.