How to transform my dining room table?

S

Sara

New member
I've never done a project like this before, but I'm making a present of redoing my dining room table this Easter. I bought a dining room table from thrift and it was in excellent condition, but after regular scrubbings, stains, and nicks and scratches from the kids, it looks all worn out. What kind of products will I need? I'm not sure what type of wood it is, but it's a fairly light color now when i bought it it was a bit darker, and it had a glossy finish on it. (I'm pretty sure it's not soft wood it doesn't scratch very easily.)
I want to get rid of the faded marks nicks and scratches as well as the stains. Good description of the products I need, please!
 
Get yourself a "mouse sander" about $30-$40 and sand the finish down on the table- then wipe it down w/ a tack cloth really well & refinish it.. or stain it.. If the wood is really worn out you could most certainly just PAINT it.. There's a variety of options available at most hardware store like Lowes or Home Depot.
 
hi there, my advice is to sand the whole table back so you get a smooth, scratch free surface, you can use silicon carbide (wet & dry) for this, start with a medium grade (course if deep scratches) and work to a fine grade. then

For the same colour finish:

solvent based: wipe down in white spirit (wear gloves) to remove grease and apply a solvent based varnish (16 - 18 hour drying time) reapply after this time for another coat for protection.

water based: wipe down using meths spirit to get rid of grease and apply a water based varnish (much less drying time 2-3 or so) reapply after this time for a second coat for protection

For a darker colour finish: use a wood stainer (you can choose the degree of stain) then apply to the wood after using meths (for water based stainer) or white spirit (for oil based stainer) and cover the wood but note that if you have brush marks half way through the table (stop and start) these will dry like that so finish from one length or width to the other so no stop start trails) when this is dry you can varnish the table using the methods stated above.
 
if it looks worn out and is still in use by the family, why not distress it?

There are, I'm sure, good step by step instrucitons on how to sand it down, prime it, which paints or glazed to use, then you wipe the glaze off while it's still wet, beat it with a metal chain, nick it up, and so on. I've seen some very attractive old pieces finished this way, then it doesn't matter what the kids do bc it already looks old and beaten.
 
I agree with ?. Though there are other things you could do other than family pictures. You could let the children cut out clips from magazines, or maybe cover it with important newspaper articles... But pretty much if you don't want a huge project on your hands, this is most likely the best way to go. Just don't forget the plastic cover!
 
hi there, my advice is to sand the whole table back so you get a smooth, scratch free surface, you can use silicon carbide (wet & dry) for this, start with a medium grade (course if deep scratches) and work to a fine grade. then

For the same colour finish:

solvent based: wipe down in white spirit (wear gloves) to remove grease and apply a solvent based varnish (16 - 18 hour drying time) reapply after this time for another coat for protection.

water based: wipe down using meths spirit to get rid of grease and apply a water based varnish (much less drying time 2-3 or so) reapply after this time for a second coat for protection

For a darker colour finish: use a wood stainer (you can choose the degree of stain) then apply to the wood after using meths (for water based stainer) or white spirit (for oil based stainer) and cover the wood but note that if you have brush marks half way through the table (stop and start) these will dry like that so finish from one length or width to the other so no stop start trails) when this is dry you can varnish the table using the methods stated above.
 
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