I have 20 yr old oak (veneer) vanity cabinet which is basically very sound, but some surface wear. What's the worst case scenario if I were to simply apply stain over it "as is" ? I don't have time to sand or strip. From my many years working w/stains, I don't think there's really any major downside. The stain shouldn't flake or chip, etc. This is just a quick spruce-up for resale. Thanks!

I have a house with an ancient paintjob. I'm prepairing to repaint on the long weekend (4th of July) in the coming weeks I'll be doing the prep work. 3/4ths of the house is stucco but the front facing the street is old vertical (cedar?) wood siding The wood is in OK shape but the house gets direct SW sun all day long so over time the paint has checked and flaked in some areas. I assume priming will be a good idea, but I expect some serious unevenness if/when I get into scraping the worst areas to get rid of the flaky parts. *Is there any priming prepping technique recommended for getting this house to accept a new coat of paint that will not result in the same problem 3 months later? *What do I fill this with or should I strip and sand to get it totally even the hard way? *Is there a patch putty for exterior that can put up with this much sun? *What primer is recommended? I'm trying to do a cheap job this time out and plan to eventually replace the siding when this paintjob wears out since I only have to do the front of house.