You need a good belt sander if you want to strip it down... Since it was stained darker than you wanted, I would call him and ask him to sand it down (at no extra charge) and bring it back unfinished. Either way, the table can be done over. As my 3dogs stated, pine is a soft wood. It should have been coated with BLO first, then a 3 to 5 day wait before staining. The BLO keeps soft wood from asorbing too much stain. After you stain it, wait two days and then you can begin to apply poly. I apply all my finished with a rag rather than a brush. Remember to test the stain on samples of pine wood (that also have had BLO applied to it) before staining the finished product. Also, always view the stained sample piece in the room where the furniture is going. good luck, and don't be upset, it can be fixed. Joann

1. What should I use to strip the original finish > Use a chemical stripper containing Methylene Chloride in a well-ventilated area. Use protective equipment such as gloves, apron, and goggles. An organic cartridge respirator would also be a good idea if you have any doubts about the ventilation. 2. Once the finish is gone, I am assuming it is okay to sand out all of the nicks in the wood? > It's hard to tell from the photos, but the top may be veneer or solid woods. Harden, I think, uses a lot of solids, but most mfrs' table tops are veneered to retain flatness. If it's solid, you are safe to sand. If it is veneer, then, no, only do a light sanding with 220 grit. Consider the dents character marks or "distressing" that you did not have to pay extra for. 3. Do you think this is Walnut? How do I match the finish to the rest of the items? Should I take a chair into Sherwin Williams to have them match the stain? > Walnut does just fine without stain. In fact, stains can muddy the figure and make it look less attractive. 4. What type of protective finish should I use after staining? I am thinking it may have originally been shellac (finish is very cloudy in some areas) > It is most likely lacquer, the most common commercial finish used in the last 60 years. Lacquer can degrade over time and light exposure (like all finishes) and be more prone to blush. What I would do: - Apply two light coats orange shellac. This will do two things 1. Bring out a lot of the luster (chatoyance) in the wood. 2. Seal in any potential contamination from silicone oil (Pledge polish any time over its life) - Apply several coats of a wipe on varnish. A readily available source would be General Finishes' Arm-R-Seal. That is a wiping polyurethane. If you want a more high-brow finish, you could use Waterlox. A non-poly choice would be Sherwin Williams' Fast Dry Varnish. You can brush either of the latter two with 5-10% thinning or wipe with 50% thinning (equal amounts of varnish and mineral spirits).

Update: After doing more research on spar varnish and finding the post I will refer to below, I went to my local paint store and had a long talk with the owner about my project. I decided to go with minwax semigloss clear polyurethane and I was advised to use a lambswool device to apply the poly. Then I came home and read your recent posts, Richard - and yes, product I was talking of (the spar varnish) is a quality product but after more reading I just didn't feel right about using it on this table. I also found this thread on "woodjocks" website and found the discussion leading me towards poly even more. http://lumberjocks.com/topics/2565 So, I have a applied one coat of poly with the wool device. I am not sure how I feel about this wool idea - it seems to leave lint behind? I am thinking of switching to a brush, or to disposable foam brushes for the next 3 coats. Any advice on how to proceed from here onto my last coats of poly (even just some encouragement) is appreciated. I'm not sure how I like the semigloss finish - its nice, but I hope it will be waterproof and repellant to dinner sauces, wine, etc. I am also feeling concerned about my work environment. I am working in a free standing garage and the temps are supposed to dip down into 40s this week at night. Will that be a problem in between dry coats of poly? Here is a link that might be useful: thread on spar varnish I found

I had a little help from my friends, you and Arturo. I used to live in Tucson in the 70s. I would buy old furniture at thrift stores and estate sales and fix it up for my little houses. Most of it would be genuine antiques today. But back in the day, you could take it to be dipped in huge lye vats that would strip it to the bone. That was the last time I tried refinishing anything except just rubbing Restore-a-finish on old cabs. This door is my final attempt at refinishing I think.