How to Refinish Antique Pine

Place old newspaper around the furniture that is being refinished. Open up windows for proper ventilation. Put on disposable plastic or cotton gardening gloves to protect fingers from splinters. Run both hands over the surface of the antique pine to find rough spots.

Check to see if gloves snag on the surface. Put on a dust mask to protect from inhaling wood dust. Use delicate 150 grit sandpaper to sand antique pine in rough sections, to lift old varnish or paint, and to smooth the surface in general. Make sure to sand antique pine in the direction of the grain. Remove wood dust with a paintbrush when you have finished sanding.

Take chemical paint stripper and apply it to antique pine as an alternative to sanding. Apply the paint stripper with a clean paintbrush in even strokes. Wait ten minutes, then take a scraping tool or putty knife and scrape at the top surface of the antique pine, removing any old patina, paint or varnish.

Go over the surface of antique pine once it is sanded or stripped with wood filler. Make sure to seal any fragile areas, such as hairline cracks, pits or splits in the wood. Take the wood filler and fill in deep surface gouges. Remove excess wood filler with a clean, disposable rag. Use wood glue to make any last minute repairs on antique pine. Let the glue dry for six hours. Take 150 grit sandpaper and, once the wood filler and wood glue is completely dry, re-sand lightly. Remove wood dust with a clean paintbrush.

Stain antique pine with wood stain made for pine wood. Use a paintbrush or rag to stain the pine. Apply two coats for a darker stain. Let the first coat of stain dry before applying the second coat. Seal antique pine wood with a waterproof varnish. Apply a second coat after the first coat is dry, if needed.