Refinish an Old Kitchen Table

When I was getting married and moving out, all of my friends and family seemed to see it as their opportunity to get rid of all their old, unwanted furniture. "Give it to the newlyweds! they need furniture," must have been what everyone was thinking. In many case, this came in handy. I didn't have to buy expensive furniture or hunt it down somewhere, but a lot of the stuff I was given was old and not really fitting with my preferred style. Luckily, spray paint exists! I've refinished quite a few items now, but I feel like my kitchen table is one of the most dramatic transformations.

This table is really well built and stable and it has two leaves so it can be small enough for six people or large enough for ten to twelve if needed. However, it wasn't in great condition and I wasn't a big fan of the oak color. I don't even have a good before picture because I didn't think to take one and I always had a tablecloth on it to hide the scratched and stained tabletop.

Here is the table with the table cloth on it when it was in my apartment.

Now that I have a house with a garage, I can paint stuff!

I started off by flipping the table over and painting the underside. As you can see. I laid down newspaper and taped it in place so that I wouldn't ruin the top of the table. Doing the painting first affords you the chance to sand off any stray paint that might accidentally get on the tabletop where you're going to sand.

I lightly cleaned off the surfaces and sanded lightly sanded it all over so that the paint would hold well. I did about 3 light coats of paint an hour apart. 

I realized after I finished painting the base, that I had forgotten to pull out the leaves and paint those as well. I taped and covered the table top and spray painted the section just below the tabletop (the frame? skirt? I'm not sure what the area is called).

If you're worried about the floor, put a tarp down so you don't get that nice over spray ring on the ground.

After I had finished painting the bottom white, I sanded all the top pieces. I started with a 80 grit sand paper on a palm or pad sander to remove all the old varnish. After most of the old finish was gone, I moved to a 120 grit sand paper on my sander. I smoothed it out with a 200 grit paper. (If you're not familiar with sand paper, the lower numbers mean rougher paper and the higher numbers mean more smooth paper. You usually work from low to high to remove old finishes and then even and smooth the surface as you go)

After the old finish was removed, the surface was smooth, and the table cleaned with a rag towel, I stained it with a dark walnut colored stain. Maybe because the color I chose was so dark, the stain was really thick, almost like paint. I applied it with a 3" paint brush. When I tried to add a second coat, the first coat started coming off. I've never had this happen with stain before (it's supposed to stain, right?), so I fixed the area I had tried to re-coat and left it alone.

When the stain was thoroughly dry (I believe I waited a full day), I started applying the varnish. I did 2 coat in one day, 2 hours apart and 2 coats the next day, also 2 hours apart.

One of my future projects, reupholstering and converting a chair into a rocker, is in the background there.

At that point, I started working on the chairs. I cleaned them all, which was no small task since they were 20 years old. I use hot water and in some case kitchen cleaner to remove dirt and stains as best as I could.Once they were dry, I used a medium (120) grit sand paper to rough up the surfaces of the chairs. I used the palm sander on all the flat surfaces I could, especially the seat, where I knew there would be a lot of use. I didn't strip the old varnish, because I didn't want to prime the chairs, just made a good surface for the paint to adhere to.

This is the paint I used on the chairs. It worked really well and I love the color.

I lightly spray each chair twice while the chair was upright and then coated it again the next day while the chair was upside down to get all the spots I missed. After doing any necessary touch-ups, I coated all the chairs with two gloss clear coats to protect the paint and keep the color from transferring to other surfaces. I think the clear coat was pretty import because it's such a bold color that if it rubs against the white table it would definitely leave a mark. 

After a solid week of drying in the garage, I brought the table and chairs into my kitchen/dining room. I have to say, I love them now! I'm so glad I refinished them instead of buying something new. They've also held up really well. The table surface looks great and it matches my kitchen perfectly!

Making a Flower Pattern Table

I bought this table a yard sale about a year ago because I need a table about this size, but it wasn't the prettiest table I'd ever seen. I decided to spruce it up and paint it.

This is the pattern I used.

Materials:

• Table
• Sand Paper (Coarse, Medium and Fine Grit)
• Sander (optional, but so much faster)
• Wood Stain (Cabernet was the color I used)
• Wood Varnish
• Small Paint Brush
• Large Paint Brush
• Paper/rag towels
• Spray Paint
• Newspaper
• Masking tape

Be sure you're working either outside or in a well ventilated area on this entire project. Start by cleaning off the table, making sure there's nothing sticky on it. Then either by hand or with a sander, start sanding off the top of the table with the coarsest grit sand paper you have. After most of the old finish has been removed, move to a medium sand paper and go over it again. Repeat with the fine grit sand paper. You should end up with a smooth finish-less table top.

Next, draw the design on the table top. If you want your design to start in the middle of the table, measure the width and length to find the exact center and start there.

Using a small paint brush, dip it in the stain and dab it in the center of the flower, brushing it outward just a little bit. Then, using the towel, wrapped around your fingers, blend it out toward the edge of the petal. Be careful to not blend too far out. It's easy to add more stain, but really difficult to remove it. You want the stain to be thick at the center and slow fade out to the edge where there should be little or no stain.

After the center petals are done, move on to the next layer by brushing a line of stain at the bottom edge of the petal. Try to just barely touch the pencil line that you drew. This will help to hide your lines and accent the edges.

Once you've been working on it for a little while, the towel will have a build up of stain that makes the blending a little easier. You can also dab your brush on the towel to add stain if it starts to get too dry. You want a nice smooth blend from inside to the outside. You can see my purple band-aid in the photo of me blending the petals.

Keep working your way around the flower from the center to the outer edges. Work in a well ventilated or outdoor area while working on this and take breaks often. Prolonged exposure to the stain fumes can be hazardous. I learned that the hard way when I got the worst headache I've ever had and then read the directions later.

Look around the table and do any final touch ups to make it perfect. I wanted the pattern to continue around the sides of the table, but I didn't paint the sides until the end because it was easier to see where the pattern was going once the top was complete.

After the stain is dry, add the varnish. Brush the varnish on in the same direction as the grain of the wood. Use long strokes going from one side of the table to the other. Follow the directions on your varnish for the dry time and number coats needed. Mine needed three coats with at least 2 hours, but not more then 24 hours in between each coat.

After the varnish is completely dry, it's time to paint the legs. Lay down newspaper or a drop cloth to protect the newly finished table surface. Lay the table upside down on the cloth or newspaper.  Use a towel to wipe off any dust from legs. Tape newspaper to the bottom side of the table to protect the top from any over spray. You can also paint the legs before sanding the top of the table, and then you don't need to be so worried about over spray. I wanted to make sure I could successfully complete the design on top first so that painting the legs wasn't a waste of my time.

Spray paint the legs with a nice thin coat of paint. Let it dry and then add another coat. Turn the table around to see all side in the best light to be sure you didn't miss anything.

After that, you're done!