Kitchen Table Make-Over...

When my grandfather died I was left his kitchen table.  It has been a great table but after 15 years of abuse from the four of us, it was looking a little rough.  I wanted to get a new table but those of you who know me know that I attach to things quite easily and besides this was handed down to me.  Hopefully to become a wonderful family heirloom.  Now the tables that I did look at were not all that different, mostly just painted and chairs that were not broken or wobbly.  So I set off on the Internet for some help on how to paint furniture that would actually look nice and not cheap or peel.  I found this website which was uber-helpful.  It is called Centsational Girl and coincidentally the tables are similar! This is my very first ever furniture overhaul and personally I could not be happier!  Jake is building me some chairs to go along with it and I will post once they are done.  Sarah is getting a big girl chair that is the same but taller.  Needless to say she is over the moon about not having a 'high chair' anymore!  So here is a before...

Before

Preparing to sand...did a lot of procrastination here.....very nervous!

The leaf...which had some water damage on the ends from the great 500 year Flood.

One last before...

Let the sanding begin.

I used a medium grit cube sander to begin with and by hand got all of the edges and sides (hand cramps).  I made sure all of the surfaces were smooth to the touch.

This is the water damage I was talking about.

Jake cut me two strips of wood and put a ridge in it to match the rest of the table so that the water damage did not show.  I sanded this really well too.  I attached it with Liquid Nails and left the clamps on about 24 hours to make sure that it stayed in place.

My new toy!

I used an orbital sander to get the top super-smooth (and some of the edges).  Without this, I have no idea how long this would have taken me!

All sanded and wiped down with a damp rag, then a dry one.  I wanted to remove ALL dust particles before applying the primer.

The tools

I moved to the basement for priming and painting.  The pollen and dust here are so bad I did NOT want goopy yucky paint so it was good to move down there except you HAVE to ventilate (and I wore a mask)!  This primer was rough!  It is oil based and smells!!  I primed the whole table twice, letting it COMPLETELY dry between each coat.  I used an uber cheap paint brush and just tossed it.  I also tossed the paint roller...no since wasting that much time cleaning up oil based primer....YUK!

After two coats of primer.



I used Behr Enamel Hi-Gloss Ultra White paint (water-based).  I rolled the top and used a brush on the sides and bottom.



I used a really good paint brush (Purdy...and I washed this one out and kept it!) for this part..I did not want hairs left behind or lots of paint strokes.  I let each coat dry a ridiculously long amount of time...I am talking days.  I wanted the paint to harden completely.  A lady at the hardware store told me that paint dries from the inside out so I wanted to make sure that it was good and dry.  This is something that we use daily and then some!  I want it to stay pretty and last!

After 2 coats of paint.

CLEAR wax....strangely hard to find!

 I added 3 coats of clear wax.  I rubbed it on with a pad and let it dry an hour, then buffed it with an old soft cotton washcloth.  I repeated three times but I only waxed the top.  I hope that this helps it protect the top since it is the most used of all!  (I was told by several people that if you use a polyurethane on white paint that it would yellow it, so hopefully this clear wax will not!)

Viola!

Ready for chairs.

I think that it turned out GREAT (course I am biased)!  I found my pitcher at an antique store for a great price and added some wonderful flowers.  Now all we need are chairs and they are on the way!  I love my new table and I have to say I am glad that I tackled this project and I am so happy with the results!

Let me know what you think!