"j34m" wrote in message
ups.com...
I bought a home a year ago and I do not like the wood mantle that the
builder put in the house. It is like a light oak color and I want to
stain it something darker like a mahogony color. Do I have to strip
the mantle first or just stain over the top? I'm not sure if there is
some type of sealer on it. I have a picture of the mantle that I could
post, but I don't know how to post photos!

Any help/suggestions would be appreciated!


Is it oak or just an oak color on pine or poplar? If it has a poly or any
type of varnish finish, stain will not do much at all. It must be stripped,
then sanded to expose fresh clean wood cells. You can use a poly that has
stain in it, but it probably won't get very dark. Stripping the oak mantle
will help, but oak may not get dark enough for you anyway. Before you go to
the trouble of stripping it, get a small piece of oak and try different
stains on it to see if you can get where you want to go.

Oak can be darkened by ammonia fuming also. That will require removing the
mantle.