On a piece of wood furniture, any old lacquer, stain or paint has to come off. For that kind of heavy sanding and stripping, says Glass, “you need coarse sandpaper measuring 40 to 60 grit.” ...

Q: My childhood dresser is beautiful but the wood stain looks faded. I’d love to update it with fresh paint and new hardware, but I’ve heard that you can’t get good results painting over stain.