How to stain and varnish an home office desk?

[RaySousa]

I have an old pine office desk which I would like to restain / varnish.  Ideally I want a water base combined stain / varnish. At present the desk has a light coloured stain / varnish. If possible I would rather just give it a light sanding first. After staining / varnishing I would like to put a good wax on it. What are your recommendations ?  How much will I need etc 

Thanks for yoyr help,

Ray Sousa

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @RaySousa. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about re-finishing a desk.

Stain and varnish products need to be applied to timber and not a previously varnished coating. Varnish is impervious so your new stain and varnish won't apply smoothly. Simply lightly sanding the surface will help with adhesion, but your results might not be fantastic. Once you've sanded the existing coating off back to raw timber you can use a product similar to Cabot's water-based stain and varnish. One litre would be plenty. There is the 250ml size can, but I suspect that won't be enough unless it's a small desk.

Typically, a varnish is a finished coat, so no wax would be added to it. Was there a particular reason why you'd like to use wax over it?

Here's a handy step-by-step guide: How to restore wooden furniture.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell