fireplace painting.

I have aqcuired a wooden fireplace which has been badly stained/varnished. The centre fire is an electric coal effect which I do not know how to seperate from the fire surround. The back of fire seems to be MDF material, the rest could be pine,not too sure,There is a black surround between the electric fire & wood surround. I wish to repaint the wood with a Mahogany color,what is the best product to use to cover previous brush strokes ETC. I have tried removing the varnish, rubbing down with sandpaper, wire wool,thinners, even as someone suggested,,(an expert apparently) oven cleaner spray. At the moment the wooden surround is a light color, I want to use a darker Mahogany. Any ideas, suggestions would be appreciated. Job must be done in-situ, too heavy for a 76 year old senior.

 

Welcome to the forums!

Could you post a pic or two? http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...your-post.html

Wood stains basically only work on raw wood. The best way to get back to raw wood is to use a paint and varnish remover to soften and scrape off the finish. Sanding would come after that. If you just want to darken the existing finish you could use a tinted poly like minwax's polyshades. Care must be used when applying a tinted poly. Runs, drips and lap marks will all be darker than the rest, missed spots - lighter and tinted poly doesn't touch up well and shouldn't be overbrushed.