I have some rubberwood tables I bought off CL and bought an unfinished table at Mill Stores to match. Not as nice as oak or cherry or even maple but at least it's solid wood. You have to be OK with the butcher-block top though since I guess they can't get planks.

I stripped the coffee table b/c it was so scratched, so can't say about staining it darker, but since if it's finished it has a lacquer (most likely tinted lacquer not clear lacquer over stain) or other finish on it, you'd have to strip that off to restain anyway.

I think it's a very functional wood for a dinette set or end tables etc. It's not cherry, but I think it's a very pretty wood. It's also very durable and eco friendly as the rubberwood is grown very quickly and helps save some of our more slow growing trees.

I would expect in the future, that a great deal more furniture is made of this wood because of it's renewable nature.

When I replaced our kitchen table and chairs last year I was torn between getting a "nice" set or getting a cheaper set that I'd feel free to replace in a few years. We do have a formal LR so, I finally decided on a set that I know won't stick around the way most of my furniture does.

The set I wound up buying is rubberwood. It was very inexpensive and I'm amazed at how nice it looks. I have a cherry chest in the kitchen and cherry in the adjoining family room and the rubberwood looks just fine with it.

I guess I don't understand the part of the question about staining over stained parawood. Have you found some on CL that needs to be refinished? Are you buying new and worried about refinished when/if needed?

Some have said that the latex in the wood makes it hard to stain (unfinished furniture). I haven't taken the Mill Store table out of the box yet, but after stripping the CL table I stained it with Old Masters gel stain and it was fine.

thanks everyone for your feedback, I appreciate it.

Ajsmama, I found some very comfortable parawood chairs that look quite sturdy but they are a bit dark. I was wondering if they could be painted or stained over, but the furniture store said they could not because of the oil finish. Thanks for your help.

I'd check with someone at a woodworking store about refinishing the chairs before I'd take the word of someone at the furniture store. Though I don't see why they'd say they couldn't be refinished since they could lose the sale in doing so. I also don't see why you couldn't use a furniture refinisher (like Minwax or Formbys) to lighten the color then go over them with a clear polyurethane or tung oil. I've done so before, though it was on an antique oak dresser. The type of wood shouldn't make any difference as far as I know and I've been refinishing furniture for about thirty years now.

You can re-stain them lighter, but to do so you would need to completely sand them down. There is no such thing as staining over a dark stain to get it lighter. The more stain you add the darker/deeper the tone gets.

I've got stained parawood dining chairs that I did myself (couldn't find any I liked so bought some unfinished).

Strip, don't (just) sand.

Does anybody know where you can buy para wood lumber? I'd like to try my hand at working it.

I like it too! It's durable, cheap, and not unattractive. I have kid furniture and old college furniture made of the stuff (which is now also kid furniture) and it's held up amazingly. I would have no problem getting adult furniture out of it if I found something I liked.

You should be able to strip just about anything...

My office is full of para/rubberwood stuff, none of which is stained, because when I got it I guess I didn't care about the natural light color. I love refinishing wood, esp. when there's no real risk involved and I have nothing to lose. Now I'm thinking of seeing what I can do with one of those computer tables. :)

It's a nice, inexpensive wood. I've had pieces of it last a long time. I've had pieces fall apart in months.

The durability would be a function of the construction methods, not the wood, which is tight-grained and easy to work.

I bought a rubberwood table from an unfinished furniture store 18 years ago. I had absolutely no trouble staining the top (or painting the legs for that matter). I used standard Minwax stain & poly. It's held up well to family abuse since.

I just bought a parawood console table. Some of the reviews said that the staining process can be a nightmare. Has anyone recently bought parawood and stained or painted it without any problems? I would love to be able to just stain and put a poly on it. I have never done this before, so concerned that I would ruin it.

Read the instructions here and you should have no problems.
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/stain-rubberwood-50705.html

Franginakay, I sanded and stained a farm table I bought from Kmart back in the early 90's. It's top is parawood and it did ok, though of course there's no guarantee. Here's a pic of the top with General Finish brand's stain in walnut. I had no directions and admittingly didn't know if I was doing it right but I sanded all of the finish off and then some to help ensure the stain would take without a lot of blotching.

You have a lovely kitchen, your table runner is very pretty & what I can see of your table it looks to me that you've done a fine job of refinishing. I do have a suggestion though. I would have liked an unobstructed view of the tabletop. Like the shot with the runner but without the runner would have been perfect. But thanks for including the pictures. I really like the darkish top with the white (cream?) skirt, legs & chairs. And I LOVE your chairs! Now I know the colors I'll use once I find the perfect table & chairs. Pictures are always helpful!

I realize this is an old thread but I figured I'd add my two cents. I've found parawood quite easy to work with, it is a sappy wood so sanding down and then wiping well with denatured alcohol will greatly improve your chances of getting a good, even stain on the unfinished pieces.

Mardy, thank you for the kind words. Finding the perfect table and chairs was the hardest part for me, nothing seemed to work better than what I already had. If you're interested in refinishing a second hand table and buying the chairs separately it's a great way to get something that's a one of a kind.

Here is the picture you said would be helpful:

I also realize this is an old thread but adding my experience. I had a rubberwood table that needed to be refinished. I stripped the table and sanded and wiped with D alcohol etc... There were some spots I could never get down to the raw wood to restain. It was as if they had put something in the wood that I could not lift out. These areas maintained a sheen. I had to paint the table in the end. This could have had more to do with the preparation or staining processes I guess. Table was from World Market.