Dining Table: Mission Accomplished!

Hello Wonderfuls!

I've been on quite a DIY kick lately...

(thanks to all the garage sale finds

we've recently accumulated!)

My latest project was refinishing a dining table....

which is something I've never done.

We found it in Tucson at a thrift store

back in March for $50.

I knew we had to get it because:

1. It was solid wood!

2. Any damage on it was fixable!

3. The legs... oh the LEGS! :P

Okay.

Sadly, I don't have an assembled "Before" photo...

We had to take apart the table to fit it in my car,

and reassembling it just to disassemble it yet again,

well, that's a lot of work! :P

MY INSPIRATION:

Source

I love the dark table

AND

I already have some chairs 

that I recently painted a pale teal!

Boom Baby!

THE PROCESS:

Here we go.

My steps to fixing up this bad boy?

1. Clean it up. 

There was dried wax, 

old paint, 

and mystery goo...

2.  Repairs

(Meaning wood glue & clamps!)

Some of the edging on the table 

had come apart and needed a little love.

3.  Strip the wood!

The table had layers and layers of old finish and stain.

I tried sanding it for a bit... 

but resorted to using "Citristrip."

(It's magic I tell you!)

4. More cleaning & Sanding

5. Condition the wood

This allows for even staining :)

6.  Stain & Wait! 

First Coat

Second Coat

7. Seal it!

I applied 2 coats of Polyurethane 

to seal and protect it,

letting it dry (and sanding) between coats.

Dry and Ready to Assemble!

Some fun grain detail!

8.  Assemble!!!!

 

  

 One last refresher...

BEFORE:

AFTER:

All in all,

this was a tedious process.

BUT, I enjoyed it.

I love how the Dark Walnut stain

gives the wood depth and warmth

while maintaining the dark color I was going for.

The worst part of this project

was all the waiting.

(LOTS of dry time.)

But, it's necessary!

Well, thanks for reading!

My next projects include:

2 more dining chairs 

2 end tables

1 mini secretary desk

...

Happy Tuesday!