Should I sand lightly, clean, add conditioner, then use a one step stain and finish like minwax's polyfinish. Or sand, clean and use a gel stain. Or am I completely off track.

It has to take some abuse. While I don't mind minor scratches, dents and normal wear tear. I don't want flaking and peeling like a paint finish.

Thanks for your help and rec's. I think I only have minwax available at the local hardware store. I will check tomorrow morning to be sure.

Stains are meant to be applied to bare wood. Are you planning to strip the finish off down to bare wood? "Sanding lightly" (or even heavy sanding) is not a way to strip finish.

You can use a gel stain as a glaze, between coats of finish. This assumes that you use a glaze AND top coat compatible with the finish that is on there now.

Forget Polyshades. It is very difficult to get on evenly, and even if you somehow manage to do that, it will bond poorly to a factory finish (read: Peel off in no time at all).

My suggestion is to
a) stay away from Minwax
b) don't necessarily trust finishing advice from anyone wearing an apron or vest

Let's try to figure out where you are and where you want to be before you have a mess on your hands.

Here is what the bed and dresser (hidden behind desk) look like.

DS wants black painted furniture but I would prefer to stay with a stain finish but go very dark (the darker the better). After reading the article I think a gel stain would be best for my experience level but may not be what the project needs. What will I need to do to get a deep dark stain on the pine furniture without it looking a mess.

I am trying to decide whether to paint (a dark color, espresso or matte black) or restain the piece, as it has taken some abuse, has pen/crayon marks, etc. that need to be disguised. I am leaning towards staining, primarily because I am concerned about wear of paint finish on the desk, ladder, and other areas that will take some abuse. However, the more I read, the more staining seems like more trouble that it's worth. Any suggestions on which finishing method would be best?

Xoxosmom -- did you do this project yet? Happy with the results?

Thanks much!