Completed! Refinishing a Table

[np307]

I used to work for a furniture business and learned how to refinish furniture there. I was working at a fundraising yard sale recently and we had this table come in at the end of the second day. I thought about it, looked at it, and decided to buy it to refinish it.

As you can see, the leaf is immaculate, but the rest of the table had a table pad that stuck to it. There are no deep scratches on the table at all (and very few surface scratches), which is good because the veneer is not too thick.

I started off with stripping the finish. I use the good stuff, Jasco. It will eat through your gloves, so I usually don't wear any. Easier to be careful and just keep the stuff off of me. I had to strip the leaf too because I knew my finish would not match the factory finish.

Here is what it looks like now:

Nest step is to sand the top, and then stain, and finally clear coat and wax. I'll update as I make progress.

 

[np307]

Started work on sanding the table today. This is just one pass with some coarse stuff. Still have some discoloration and a few light scratches to get out. Then it will be time to start applying stain and poly. You can see the color will be pretty good, a dark stain and the poly will bring it out even more. This is just a wipe down with water to clear the dust off

 

[np307]

The leaf is going to turn into my first attempt at replacing a veneer, because the veneer that was on it cracked and couldn't be fixed. In the mean time, we're on the 10 yard line. Stain has been applied and the first coat of poly is drying now. Really concerned about the humidity and how the poly will set up, but we will just have to see.

It's done! I'm pleased with the results. It's not perfection, but it'll do nicely. If I ever finish a project and think it's perfection, it'll be my last one.

 

[trcubed]

That table has great bones. That will be beautiful when you get it finished.

What type legs does it have? Pedestals?

 

[HMP]

subscribed for progress pictures

 

[BigWaylon]

Good thread topic. Moving it here to be more relevant.

 

[np307]

That table has great bones. That will be beautiful when you get it finished.

What type legs does it have? Pedestals?

Two sets of three

 

[Mirac]

I too fancy my self as a bit of a woodworker .
That's going to be a fine piece when you are done.

 

[phideux]

Are you gonna strip and re-do the legs so they match????

Two sets of three

 

[CZfool68]

My FIL bought us a nice teak table at an auction once. He fixed the broken leaf well enough it was hard to spot. I took a week of vaction once to refinish it. Lots of work. But I probably over did it as usual. So free table plus one week of time off work! Think I screwed around with other things, but not sure it was worth it. Although I still have the table and have never had to refinish it. If you really enjoy the process and end result it is well worth it. Something about reviving a well made object is very cool.

 

[np307]

Are you gonna strip and re-do the legs so they match????

Probably not. The legs aren't mahogany and will never match the top. I will rough up the finish on them and then apply a coat or two of stain. Color will be darker than the top but will still look 'right.'

 

[np307]

My FIL bought us a nice teak table at an auction once. He fixed the broken leaf well enough it was hard to spot. I took a week of vaction once to refinish it. Lots of work. But I probably over did it as usual. So free table plus one week of time off work! Think I screwed around with other things, but not sure it was worth it. Although I still have the table and have never had to refinish it. If you really enjoy the process and end result it is well worth it. Something about reviving a well made object is very cool.

We would've been murdered at the store if it took us that long lol. I'm tracking my time on this just on the off chance my wife doesn't like it as much as our current dining room table and I end up selling it (don't think that's going to happen though, especially since she sees what it looks like now). About 40 minutes of time so far, and 15 of it was just waiting for the Jasco to so it's thing.

 

[CZfool68]

We would've been murdered at the store if it took us that long lol. I'm tracking my time on this just on the off chance my wife doesn't like it as much as our current dining room table and I end up selling it (don't think that's going to happen though, especially since she sees what it looks like now). About 40 minutes of time so far, and 15 of it was just waiting for the Jasco to so it's thing.

I didn't say I knew what I was doing! I sanded it all down very well. Then applied 7 coats of teak oil with light sanding between coats. It is a teak table. We lived in CA at the time so it was hot and dry. I let it dry for about 24 hours each time. That was about 18 years ago si I guess it had worked out ok.

 

[np307]

I didn't say I knew what I was doing! I sanded it all down very well. Then applied 7 coats of teak oil with light sanding between coats. It is a teak table. We lived in CA at the time so it was hot and dry. I let it dry for about 24 hours each time. That was about 18 years ago si I guess it had worked out ok.

Oh I wasn't dogging on you at all. We cut a lot of corners at the store, because it was just a used furniture store anyway. Usually 3 coats of stain and wiped off excess. Spray-on poly instead of hand rubbed. No wax on top of it all. Produced a good product, but certainly not a lifetime piece. We would do a bedroom suit and a table in a day if we didn't have a lot of stuff to move.

 

[np307]

Progress pics updated. 1st sanding complete.

 

[np307]

Well I was planning on finishing sanding and starting to apply the finish today, but the humidity has had other plans.

Would've been tough to apply finish today, but even worse was the warping I found on the leaf. Bad enough that the table wasn't even close to being able to close. My fault for storing it in the humid garage for so long, but I'm hoping some water and clamps will get it bent back to being straight. If not, it isn't the end of the world. We can live without the leaf.

 

[np307]

Got the leaf straightened out with the exception of the veneer wanting to separate, and starting to in a few spots. Not enough time before I have to head out for a week to correct that problem, so it'll have to wait til I get back. Just a little glue and some clamps and we will be good to go. Then final sanding, staining, and finishing.

 

[np307]

The leaf is going to turn into my first attempt at replacing a veneer, because the veneer that was on it cracked and couldn't be fixed. In the mean time, we're on the 10 yard line. Stain has been applied and the first coat of poly is drying now. Really concerned about the humidity and how the poly will set up, but we will just have to see.

 

[Mountain man]

Nice work
Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

 

[SLM]

Beautiful!!! good work.

 

[Mirac]

Looking right nice !

 

[np307]

Second full coat of poly is on. Starting to get the glassy look I want. Probably 2 more full coats after this, buffing with 0000 steel wool each time. Doubtful that any more than 1 more coat gets done today. Really starting to slow down on the drying. After the poly is all applied, I will finish it off with wax on top.

 

[np307]

Final coat of the weekend. Covered everything up as well as I could because it will be Tuesday before I get back to it. Probably one more coat of poly at least, and then the wax to top everything off.

 

[np307]

It's done! I'm pleased with the results. It's not perfection, but it'll do nicely. If I ever finish a project and think it's perfection, it'll be my last one.

 

[Mirac]

Looks Great !