Stripping back dark stain on oak stools

Hi, I'm a complete woodwork newbie. I bought some oak stools years ago and had them stained a really dark brown to suit the decor of our home at the time. I now want to restore the oak stools back to their original natural glory.

What is the best way to do it? Do I need to use a stripper to remove the stain, and how do I get it out of the deep grooves? Also, would an orbital sander work best? Any advice on the best way to approach this would be gratefully received as I've never done anything like this before.

Cheers, Karen

I don't suppose you know what the original stain was?

I’m not sure of the exact stain but it was like a honey colour, big contrast to what it is now. If you look at the pictures, you will see a few chips where the dark stain has come off over time and that will give you an indication. Thanks Russ

Industrial paint stripper, time, steelwool, elbow grease. Repeat, repeat.

If you go down the sanding route to get the colour out, you are going to remove a lot of timber once you get to the bottom of the grain texture. Maybe that suits you!?

Much of it hinges on just what type of 'stain' was used, how it was applied and what the original finish/stain were.

eg. If the old finish was a shellac or NC they may have simply stripped it off, applied a spirit-based (which is penetrating) stain and then a clear coat.

In that case, well... there's no hope of a simple removal. The stain would've leeched into the timber for a mm or two and even using a sander would involve a lot of work. Then you'd need to replicate the texture that the sander had removed.

On t'other hand, if they simply wiped down the old finish with a mild solvent to clean it up a bit and then applied a 'coat' of tinted colour (or three) then you may have some luck with the stripper route.

As the above post mentioned, stripper, time, steel wool, repeat and repeat and repeat. Simple enough but a lot of elbow grease. :)

At least it'd retain the textured surface, so in a worst case scenario where you can't get enough of the colour off for the finish you have in mind,you can back-pedal and re-apply a dark finish again.

Which makes for a costly exercise, but at least you'd still have the stools pretty much as they are now. ;)

Great advice. Don’t want to lose the the texture at all. Will post an update.... thanks:)

Great thank you both. I’ll give it a crack and see how we go. The stain hasn’t penetrated the wood so fingers crossed