How to refinish a table top for under 100.00

I bought a table off of craigslist.com a few months ago from someone. They were moving and needed to sell it fast, so I got a super awesome solid oak table and five chairs for 50.00. Cant beat that!!

It was pretty ruff looking on the top, so I decided to refinish it. It took me a few days, but I got it done. Here's how I did it.

 

I went and bought this Black and Decker hand held electric sander for 35.00. Believe me, you do NOT want to sand a table by hand. This little puppy is a life saver! (and a hand saver)

 

Then I bought several different grades of sand paper for it. I found one package of 6 that had all of the different grades I wanted, 60, 100, and 220.  It was 6 dollars. I ended up buying another pack later, so if its a big table like mine you probably want to go ahead and get two packs now.

 

 

 

I then picked out my stain. I am an artist, so I just eyeballed mine, but for the average person I would take a picture of your current table with your phone or camera. If you don't have that, then pick up a few color sample swatches from the store and take it home to match to your table. You want to get the stain color as close to the color on the base of the table as possible.

 

Next, you will want to buy some foam brushes, a bristle brush, plastic gloves, mineral spirits, and polyurethane.

 

Okay, so your ready! Great job!

Now, you will want a very ventilated area. I used my garage and left the garage doors open. You will have to let it dry over night when you stain it, so you don't want to leave it outside or anything.

Here is my table after I sanded it with the 60 grit sand paper.

 

 I then went over it with the 100, and then the 220. This will make it super smooth. In between sandings, I did wipe it clean with a cloth. This kept the dust down. Oh yeah....be SURE to have something to cover your face with or you will be tasting and sneezing out sawdust for days! Not good.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the table right before I stained it. I wiped it clean with a damp cloth to be sure that all of the little debris and dust was gone.

 

After the first stain, it looked like this.You will want to go from left to right in the same direction as the grain. Wipe off any excess with a dry lint free cloth. Let dry for about four hours. Then you will lightly sand it with your 220 grit sandpaper. Wipe off with a damp cloth. Let it dry. Now start your second coat of stain. This will give your table a more even look.

 

The next day I checked to be sure that the stain was dry. It was, so I started with the Polyurethane. Now this you will want to put on SUPER light. Do not wipe with a cloth or your cloth will stick to it. You will go in the direction of the grain. Let it dry over night and then go over it with one more coat.

 

Here is the finished table. My cat Furby likes it. 8-) 

 

I also recushioned the chairs.

To do this you turn your chair over. Unscrew the 8 screws that hold the cushion to the chair. Take off old material and foam. Cut new foam to fit. Recover with a new fabric of your choice. Use a furniture stapler to staple the material to the bottom of the chair. Pull it tight and tuck the corners in. It took me a few tries to get this right, but just like  me...you can do it too!

Finally, screw the seat back to the chair and voila! New chairs.

Now you are ready for that big dinner party. Have fun!