How to refinish a dining room table?
Answer
Here is a concise guide on how to refinish a dining room table:
Prepare the Table
- Disassemble the table if possible by removing the legs and apron. This will make it easier to work on.
- Clean the table thoroughly with an all-purpose cleaner to remove any dirt, oil or grease. This will prevent grinding debris into the wood as you sand2.
Remove the Old Finish
- Use a chemical stripper like KleanStrip to remove the old paint or stain. Apply with a chip brush and let sit according to instructions. Scrape off with a plastic paint scraper1.
- Alternatively, sand off the old finish by hand or with an electric sander, starting with 60-80 grit sandpaper and working up to 120-150 grit for a smooth surface24.
- Sand in the direction of the wood grain. Wipe away dust with a tack cloth4.
Apply a New Finish
- For a natural look, apply a wood conditioner, then stain with an oil-based stain like Minwax Provincial. Let fully dry13.
- Seal with 2-3 coats of a water-based polyurethane topcoat in your desired sheen, lightly sanding between coats for a smooth finish3.
- Alternatively, paint the table with milk paint or chalk paint if desired1.
Reassemble and Enjoy
- Reattach the legs and apron if removed.
- Let the topcoat fully cure for several days before heavy use.
- Your beautifully refinished table is now ready to enjoy for years to come!13
References
1. How to refinish a worn out dining table - Lovely Etc.2. How to Refinish a Table in 5 Steps (It's Actually Easy!)3. How To: Refinish a Wooden Dining Table — Little Reesor House4. The Miracle Of Refinishing An Old Dining Table - Young House Love5. How to Refinish a Wood Table {and Remove Water Stains}
Author: Ron Hazelton
Key insights
- The new finish will be tougher and able to withstand the heavy use that a kitchen table gets.
- The key to using paint stripper is to apply just enough brushing to lay it on the surface without overdoing it.
- 🧼 The last step is a wash with lacquer thinner to wash off any wax that's been left behind.
- The process of matching the color of the top of the table to the base is a crucial step in refinishing a wood dining table.
- ️ The most important part of refinishing or painting job is the preparation, which can make a significant difference in the final result.
- ️ Applying three coats of satin polyurethane and sanding lightly in between will provide a tough, durable surface for the wood dining table.
- ️ The finish on the table is so tough that it's better than a new table, and it only requires waxing twice a year for maintenance.
- ️ Sometimes we can really be surprised at the beauty that's lying just beneath the surface.
Video Full Text
- Today I'm answering an SOS from my neighbor Christine who has given up on her kitchen table because she considers it well beyond help. I'm going to have a look. So. This is a table is it oh wow. This is the table that gets all the use right yeah. You know what I think happened. Here is. I think the original finish on here was on the thin side and what's happened with all the cleaning and just time and plates being dragged across this. I finish is just plain worn off. In fact. It's worn so much that even the color underneath the stain is gone in some places. So you're we're looking pretty. Much a bare wood right here. So what I want to do is kind of take this back to how it looked when it was new. But the finish I'm gonna put on here is going to be a lot tougher. It's gonna hold up to the kind of use of kitchen table get sorry that's what we need. Now. This job is one I prefer to do in my shop. So I'm taking the top of the table back with me.Read More
- Now. The first thing I'm going to want to do is remove what's left of this finish on here and I'll be using a paint stripper. This is a thick paste brushable type okay. Now I'm going to be applying this to the tabletop with a fairly wide natural bristle disposable. Brush now the whole idea when I'm working with stripper here is I don't want to over brush it. I want to just enough to spread this out because the chemicals in the stripper that do the work our gases and if the more I brush this the more they escape into the air. The less are left behind to do their job which is to loosen the paint up so just enough brushing to lay it on the surface. Like this now the whole idea with stripper is to let the chemical do the work. So I want to give this just a few minutes and if you look at the surface here you'll begin to see that the finish is actually bubbling up. It's lifting itself from the wood underneath and that's what we want to be looking for now to lift that old finish off the surface. I'm gonna use a wide putty. Knife I'm gonna make one modification to this tool first though and that is I want to round off the corners here so that they wouldn't dig into the surface by holding the putty knife at a shallow angle and applying moderate pressure. As I move across the surface. I can remove nearly all the old finish. In one pass. A small box makes a good receptacle and gives me an easy way to clean my putty.Read More
- Knife I'm applying the stripper to smaller sections at a time to prevent it from drying out and allowing the finish to become hard again. Now I've opened the shop doors and have plenty of cross ventilation while I use these chemicals. Medium coarse steel wool does a good job of removing the old finish from the rounded table edge. Now that pace stripper took off most of the finish. There's a little bit of a residue here though so I'm going to go over to second time. Only this time I'm going to be using a liquid stripper. I apply the liquid stripper liberally with a brush. It flows into the wood grain loosening the old finish there and softens anything left behind by the paste. Medium. Fine steel wool helps dislodge any stubborn remnants and lift them from the surface to prevent scratches. It's important to make long straight passes in the direction of the wood grain well. I'd say all that finish is off but I am gonna go one more step here. I don't always do this but most of the time I like to these strippers have waxes in them and this last step is a wash with lacquer thinner and the idea here is to wash off any of that wax that's been left behind again. I brush on the lacquer. Thinner then use fine steel wool for this final cleaning. Now it's time for a little sanding and I do mean little.Read More
- This tabletop is oak veneer. Probably only 1/16 of an inch thick or less I'm using a finishing sander with 220 grit sandpaper well. The table is stripped sanded and clean. Now. It's time to put some color back or stain. It now remember I'm only doing the top of this table. So I've got to get this color to be a pretty close match to the base. What I've done is taken a couple of colors here special wall on it. It's switch pine and I've put samples of each on this board. Right here well. Let's see how this looks. I'd say the special walnut right. Here is a little bit dark in the Ipswich. Pine might be just a shade light but I bet if I intermix these - thank you pretty close. The special walnut will be my base color to lighten it just a bit. I'm using a baby syringe to add a small amount of the pine stain. Now you can apply stain with a rag or a brush.Read More
- I kind of prefer a brush I could put it on fairly wet and then wipe it off with a cloth or a paper towel. Here - I work in the same direction as the grain wiping in long even straight strokes well. The colors restored I'm going to let this dry now for at least 24 hours and then I'll come back and put a clear top coat on you know just about any refinishing or painting. Job. Preparation is the most important part of the project and I think we've done a pretty good job of preparing this. Here it looks fantastic now I'm about ready to start putting on the the clear top coating. This is a polyurethane and you notice that I'm stirring it. Here you may wonder well. Why is he stirring it. It's a clear material well. This is actually a semi gloss polyurethane and the reason I'm stirring it is the flattening agent can settle to the bottom of the can. So what I'm gonna do is pick it up and redistribute it throughout the liquid.Read More
- Here I give the table a final dusting to remove anything that might have settled onto the surface. Now this is an oil-based material. So I'm gonna be using a natural bristle brush and you know I don't skimp on my brush in a job. Like this I want to make sure that I'm using the best brush I can find for a couple of reasons. It's going to lay a much smoother finish and the likelihood of me dropping bristles out and leaving them in the coating is gonna be very small rather than work directly from the can. I like to pour the finish into a clean container then load the brush by dipping it in and gently slapping it on the sides to remove any excess material. I'm using a satin polyurethane that will enhance the wood grain give a soft Sheen and most importantly provide a tough durable surface that will stand up to spilled liquids and scuffing. In this case. I'll apply three coats and sand lightly in between. The final coat is thoroughly dry and I'm now applying paste finishing wax with a pad of four o steel wool.Read More
- Now doing this eliminates any minor surface imperfections and gives the tabletop a smooth almost velvety feel. I let the wax dry for a few minutes then buff it with a soft cloth well. It's time to put this piece of furniture back into service. One two three. Wow. It's like a new table turned out nice innit. It's gorgeous. It actually is is in a way better than a new table because the finish that I put on here is really tough it has to be okay. Nobody can eat on this. No no I want to show you something okay. I've got three coats of polyurethane. On here. It'll take just about anything and so to demonstrate watch. This watch Oliver you see how that water beads completely up on the surface so any kind of spill like that we just take a cloth watch and wipe it up. I put a coat of wax on here maybe like twice a year. I'll give you some you know put a little more wax on it okay and that's really all you're gonna have to care for this. It's really so use it.Read More
- I'm saying yes. It looks nice. It's pretty but you use it well. I can't have milk without. Brownies made these fresh for you. This morning. We hey you know what thank you for my new table. You're very welcome. I do table anytime for fresh brownies. That's a deal one. That's a deal oh oh you know but from now on you won't have to cry over spilled milk. Sometimes we can really be surprised at the beauty that's lying just beneath the surface that's certainly the case here.Read More