Furniture Refinishing -- Kitchen Table -- Part 4...

I'm done. The table is fully refinished, reassembled, and sitting in our nook. What's more... I love it. Love. Love. Love. I love the dark walnut stain on the top of the table that brings out the grain in the oak.

I love the distressed white base, that lightens up the room and "matches" a little buffet table I have to the side.

Please read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 for the products and techniques I used to refinish this project. I would highly recommend each and every product that was used.

Now to figure out the chairs. Do I refinish our current chairs? I shudder at the thought, but that might be the way I go. There's a place in our town that strips furniture. It would be about $30 - $40 a chair, but that's a lot less than buying new, and these chairs are solid wood. Or, do I buy these new Eames style chairs that I adore? {I love the juxtaposition of mixing different styles of furniture -- in this case -- traditional with retro/modern.}

I'm not sure which direction I want to go with the chairs. I'll think about it for awhile before I settle on something. In the meantime, we'll enjoy this "new" piece of furniture...

Here's the "before" {with a similar table} and "after." Although furniture refinishing can be a chore, it's certainly worth the price you pay in time and effort...

Furniture Refinishing -- Oak Kitchen Table -- Part 2 {Epic Fail}...

Last time I wrote about my kitchen table refinishing project, I was feeling pretty good about it. Unfortunately, that feeling didn't last very long. Ugh. Within a few hours, I realized I'd made an epic mistake. I know it's just as important to post failures as it is successes (you learn more from the failures), so I will tell you my sorry story. Up until I applied the Minwax Gel Stain, all was good, but when I applied the gel stain I blew it. As I mentioned before I began by applying the stain on the leaves of the table. I'd never used gel stain before, but the leaves took it beautifully. I applied the stain with a 3" brush and wiped off the excess with a rag. However, I used the same rag to wipe off the excess stain throughout the whole project. I didn't realize it at the time, but when I got to the tabletop the rag was so saturated with stain, that I wasn't removing enough of the excess stain as I "wiped it off." It removed some of it, but mostly I was just moving the stain around. When the stain dried on the tabletop, I could see swipe marks and the tabletop was darker than the leaves. Frustrating. What to do?

Here's a photo showing some of the problems...

It almost killed me, but I decided to redo the tabletop from the beginning. Once again a varnish remover (which also takes off some of the stain) was applied. Then, the after wash was applied, which took off a little more of the stain. I waited 24 hours till the tabletop was dry, and then I sanded (a lot) again. I feel sorry for myself as I type this. It was a pain in the neck, but I wanted it done right. The next day I reapplied the stain. This time I used several different dry clothes to wipe off the excess, and it turned out beautifully.

I applied two lighter applications to get this desired effect. Next, I'll use Helmsman Spar Urethane in Satin to give it a protective finish. Live and learn. Here's a photo showing the incorrect method and the correct method...

That photo makes it pretty obvious how important it is to change out your cloth as you wipe off excess gel stain on your project. Wish me luck on the remainder of the table!

Furniture Refinishing -- Oak Kitchen Table -- Part 1

I love refinishing furniture. There's something about taking a piece of furniture that's seen better days, and making it beautiful and new once again. Our oak kitchen table has needed a face-lift for a year now. It served us well for almost 25 years, but it needed a little tender loving care. I had noticed recently that the varnish was starting to wear, and in one little corner the varnish seemed a little "sticky." I've read that this stickiness might be the result of the original finish being improperly cured or mixed. In any case, it was time to take this girl to the spa and give her a make-over.

The table was originally similar to the one below, but ours is larger and has two pedestals. {Our table is solid oak -- this one could be a wood veneer.} We decided to keep a stain finish on the top of the table {only darker} and paint the pedestals white with a brown/gray glaze.

I began by refinishing the top of the table, which includes four leaves. This table sits 12 people, so it's not a small task. I did quite a lot of research online before I began. The steps that I used worked beautifully, so I'd definitely recommend this process.

To strip the top of the table and ready it for the stain, I first used Zep All-Purpose Cleaner and Degreaser. I then applied Citristrip Stripping Gel. This is a great product that I've used before. The gel formula makes it much easier to apply and it does a beautiful job of stripping away the old varnish and stain. One caution: On the can it says you can leave the stripper on the piece of furniture for 24 hours before taking it off. The first application I left on for three hours, then easily removed it with a paint remover tool. I decided to apply a second coat to remove every trace of the stain and left it on overnight. Mistake. The Citristrip dried on the table and it was much harder to remove. I would definitely remove the paint stripper within three hours of application for an easier removal. After removing the Citristrip I cleaned the table with Klean Strip Paint Stripper After Wash. Then, wait until the table is totally dry to sand. I used my orbital sander with a 220 grit sand paper to make the top of the table as smooth as glass. Gorgeous unfinished oak...

When the table was ready to be stained, I applied Minwax Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner. This product prepares the wood for staining and prevents blotchiness. The next step was to stain it the color we'd chosen...

We decided on Minwax Gel Stain in Hickory. While researching products to use I wanted to stay with the same product line for the prestain, stain, and protective finish. That way the products "work together." Minwax has a nice website that helps you choose the products that are best suited for a particular project. This Minwax Gel is wonderful. I really enjoyed using a gel stain over the more common runny version. Here are some photos of the stained wood. It's much darker than the original honey oak color of the table. This first two pictures were taken right after the stain was applied -- still wet. It still has a reddish hue to it.

As the stain dried it became darker and the red hue disappeared...

I love this dark stain. I'll wait a day or two to apply a coat of  Helmsman Spar Urethane in Satin Finish. Before I'm done there will be three coats of protective finish -- with a light sanding between coats. After that's done, I'll start on the pedestal prep and painting. I can't wait for the finished product!

*** Unfortunately, I've had an epic fail with the Minwax Gel Stain. {My fault.} Stay tuned and on Monday, June 6th, I will update you on this Project: 
Furniture Refinishing -- Oak Kitchen Table -- Part 2.***