you might be lucky and the stain is bound up in the primer, maybe try and paint some over it and see otherwise ,you are going to need a QUALITY stain blocking primer, such as Zinsser 123

A few years ago I used Milk Paint to paint an unfinished bookcase .... I LOVE the finish it gives. I used the powered milk paint and had to put a protective clear finish on after. But the *look* of milk paint can't be duplicated by *paint in a can* ... good luck on your project!

Actually, that's not unfinished--it's natural, from what you're describing, but sounds like it does have a finish. I don't know if a wax would work, either. Guess you could give the dark Old English a try, if you aren't worried about what happens to the piece, but that mainly works best on scratches, where it can penestrate the wood itself, don't know how much color change you'd get with a finished piece. But you can buy finish (varnish or shellac--I forget which--it's been years since I've used it) that has stain added to it. That would probably be the quickest, easiest way to go, IF it will work on the finish already on your piece. I'd start with a very small sample can of product and try it on an unobtrusive part of the piece to see how it will work, if it's compatible with the finish already on the piece, and if you like the color (they can look very different at home, than in the store, depending upon what you put them on).

Catherinet, I am glad to hear you say you are taking the cabinet back. Doing that much work for a relatively cheap cabinet just doesnt seem worth the effort. You could potentially run into a number of issues. The finish on the cabinet might not be a polyurethane. If could be a lacquer or some other cheap industrial finish that wont be compatible with your new finish. In general, once you have some sort of top coat on a piece, the best way to change the color is with a toner. A toner is basically dye suspended in a compatible finish or other chemical. I could go into that process further, but honestly I think taking the cabinet back (in spite of the back pain) is your best bet. Good luck. Marc