Refinishing an Oak Pedestal Game Table... {Part 4}

Part 4 of our table refinish demonstrates how I refinished the base of our pedestal table. You will remember that when we bought the table it looked like this...

It definitely had a yellow tinge to it. It was not very attractive, but it had a ton of potential and the price {$50} was just right.

In earlier posts I demonstrated the stripping process (Part 1), the staining process (Part 2), and the finishing process of the table top (Part 3).  In this post I will show how I refinished the base or pedestal of the table.

I decided early on that I wanted to paint the bottom of the table. I love the look of two-toned furniture items, so this seemed like a given. Plus, stripping a flat surface is relatively easy, but stripping a curved surface {the rounded pedestal} is harder. I like easy. I chose the color black for the base, but I considered white, off-white, or gray. Any of those would have been lovely.

It's much easier painting an item rather than stripping an item and re-staining it. One doesn't have to go through the stripping process if you are going to use paint. I lightly sanded the bottom of the table with an orbital sander and by hand and that was it. The object of the sanding is to rough up the surface a smidge so the paint will adhere nicely. I didn't use wood filler in any of the scratch marks or imperfections because I love those. It shows the table had a life before us and was well-loved. I bought a black satin spray paint with a primer built-in. Make sure you use a paint with a primer. A primer will seal the original material so the paint doesn't soak into it, requiring extra coats. Another tip -- buy a Spray Can Grip Accessory. It is so much easier to get a nice, even spray with one of these.  Your furniture will look much more like it was professionally painted!

Also, if you want a nice drip free project, spray on several light coats, rather than heavy coats, thus avoiding running or dripping paint. Do you see the image below? The arrow points to a spot that was not fully covered by the first coat of paint. That's a good thing. Several light coats will give you a much better result than one heavy one.

Here is the base of the table after three coats of black primer and paint. This was right after I painted it so it looks a little glossy.

I used a coat of Varathane Clear Satin Oil-Based Spar Urethane Spray to finish it. This particular urethane is self leveling and gave the base a gorgeous satin finish. Plus, it's hard as nails.

When that was completed all we did was screw on the casters. My heart did a pitter-patter when we added these. So beautiful...

We haven't actually screwed the top of the table to the base yet, and the rug that will be placed beneath it hasn't arrived, but here's a sneak peak at the finished project. Oh... I also have to assemble the chairs, so there will be be a Part 5 to this adventure in the near future, until then...

Have a wonderful week!

Refinishing an Oak Pedestal Game Table... {Part 1}

Last year around this time I was on a quest to find a pedestal table to use as a game table in our loft.  I wanted a round table about 45 inches wide. I looked at new tables, but I was more interested in an antique solid oak table. I love these tables. In my mind they are so much prettier and made so much better than many of the tables they make these days. I was in the habit of looking on Facebook Marketplace every day to see if one would come on the market. Here's the table I finally ended up buying...

(Picture source: Seller)

This table was everything I wanted. Solid oak. Beautiful craftsmanship. Forty-two inches wide and in as good a condition as an old table could be. The best part is this table cost only $50. Fifty! I had been looking at tables that were anywhere from $1000 (veneer) on up (solid wood), so this was a find of monumental proportions. So happy! I don't have any idea how old this table is, but the base of the table is very different than many pedestal tables. Usually the pedestals are curved. This one has very straight lines and looks a little art deco (1925 to 1940) to me. Any ideas about how old this table might be?

Well, yesterday I finally got around to starting the refinishing of this beautiful piece. The tabletop was in very good condition, but it had a light honey oak finish. I wanted something darker. I used Zep All-Purpose Cleaner and Degreaser to clean the surface of the table before painting on the Citristrip to strip off the stain and varnish. The surface of this table didn't strip off as easily as other tables I've refinished. It took two applications of Citristrip and a lot of sanding to get it down to the natural wood. After stripping the wood I used Klean Strip Paint Stripper After Wash to clean off all traces of the stripper. All of these products can be found at Home Depot or Lowe's. Here's a photo of the table with the first Citristrip application...

The Paint Stripper After Wash leaves the piece a little wet, so I let it dry overnight and put it outside in the sun this morning to make sure it was totally dry before I started sanding...

Later, I used a little elbow grease and sanded the surface with my orbital sander. I used 120 and 220 grit sanding paper. Once it was sanded and cleaned again, its beautiful character started to shine through! I noticed, of course, the different striations on the wood. I did a little research and found this wood was quarter sawn. 

I'm used to seeing plain sawn wood which creates a "cathedral" pattern in the grain. (The grain starts and travels up to a peak and down again.) Quarter sawn gets its name from the fact the log is cut into quarters. "This cut features annual growth rings at a 60 to 90 degree angle. This creates a visually appealing, somewhat tight vertical grain pattern, often with dramatic flecking." It was fun to learn something new...

 (Source: Schenck and Company)

This afternoon I applied some Minwax Gel Stain in Hickory to the piece. It's beautiful! Here is half with the gel stain and the other half unfinished. I love how the darker stain makes the grain of the wood more obvious...

I absolutely love this dark brown hickory color on oak. I used this same color for my dining room table when I refinished it, and we've loved it. Tomorrow I will finish the top of the table by applying a couple/few coats of Spar Urethane. I plan on painting the bottom of the table, so you'll have to come back to see that process.

Wishing you a wonderful day!

Children's Ice Cream Shop... the big reveal!

A few weeks ago on a blog post I mentioned that I had bought a used TV stand to repurpose into an ice cream shop for children. I finished it shortly after that post and it's time for the reveal. You might remember that I talked the cashier at the thrift store down to $5 for this "beauty." {I'm embarrassingly cheap when it come to repurposing items.}

Here are the steps it took to repupose this TV stand into a fun treat shop for the grandkids...

1. I disassembled it -- the top, kick plate, knobs, and cupboard doors all came off.

At this point, the back of the TV stand became the front of the ice cream shop, so when I refer to the "front" and "back" I am referring to the front and back of the new ice cream shop.

2. I applied a coat of Kilz Original Oil-Based Primer on all the pieces.  I also bought a piece of hard board and cut it to size for the front of the ice cream shop. {There was no "back" on the TV stand before.}

3. I used Behr "One to Remember" and Behr "Misty Isle" to paint the shop. These are beautiful colors reminiscent of peach and mint chocolate chip ice cream -- perfect for the little shop.

4. When the pieces were painted, I reassembled the stand -- turning the top around to the (now) front of the ice cream shop and placing the kick plate on the front of the shop. The hard board was also put on the front of the shop. New knobs were placed on the cupboard doors.

5. I bought two 1-1/4" x 48" round dowels at Home Depot. Two round holes were drilled in the top of the shop. I also cut two 2-1/2" cubes and drilled a hole through both of those. They were glued to the inside of the shop to help secure the bottom of the dowels. {See below.}

6. Strips of cotton were cut 1-1/2" x 16" to make the fabric banner. It was strung across the dowels.

7. A cute ice cream sign was purchased from Amazon to add to the front of the shop.

8. Two "Melissa & Doug Ice Cream Scoop Sets" were purchased. This magnetic play set makes it easy for little ones to scoop up the ice cream and place it on the cones!

The result was more than I'd hoped for... 

The ice cream shop was revealed at our family reunion. It was my hope the little ones would enjoy playing with something new. It did not disappoint...

It was especially fun when the adults got into it and ordered real ice cream from the kiddos. 

From a junkie old TV stand to a fresh new children's ice cream shop, this repurposed item was one of my favorites of all time!

My thanks to Mindi, at My Love 2 Create, for inspiring this project with her Frozen Treat Stand!

And one more thing... aren't my grandkids adorable!?!