Refinish an Old Table

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sat Jun 16, 2012 9:24 am

I have been given the task of refinished a drop leaf table that came from our fifth wheel trailer. Had it been stored properly there would be no need to refinish it; but there is.

I thought - "no problem". Hit it with a light sanding, follow with some fine steel wool and your ready to go. Well it is not happening that way.

I have sanded the surface (not the edges yet) and what I now have is a field of blotches that I know will draw negative comment from "Quality Control".

If anyone can tell me what I have done wrong and what I need to do to recover, it will be greatly appreciated.

The table top is as smooth as silk (except where the drop leaves meet the main table). I'm going to live with those two joints.

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beeg · Post by **beeg** » Sat Jun 16, 2012 10:20 am

Try wiping it down with a damp rag and see how it looks. But it looks to me it just needs more sanding to remove the old finish.

holsgo · Post by **holsgo** » Sat Jun 16, 2012 11:01 am

Do you have a scraper? If not an old Stanley then how about a scraper from lowes or HD? They have replaceable blades. Use it on the pull stroke. Youll suddenly notice the blotches fade and there should be no tear out. You'll get an incredibly smooth finish. I use scrapers after hand planing to even up any groves etc.

derekdarling · Post by **derekdarling** » Sat Jun 16, 2012 11:02 am

Unless you are really wanting the woodgrain for aesthetic purposes, how about covering with a good quality vinyl in a solid color, or a pattern for that matter.

Otherwise, wet it down, and sand again. Then use a (again, good quality) stain/sealer, and topcoats.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sat Jun 16, 2012 12:11 pm

derekdarling wrote:Unless you are really wanting the woodgrain for aesthetic purposes, how about covering with a good quality vinyl in a solid color, or a pattern for that matter.

Otherwise, wet it down, and sand again. Then use a (again, good quality) stain/sealer, and topcoats.

This is not "fine furniture" and I cannot make it into fine furniture. However, I do need to get it past "quality control".

What this really is is a piece of furniture that came in our old fifth wheel. My wife decided to refurbish it (that means put it out in my shop for sanding and staining) to be used it the current RV. It needs to better match the decor than it does thus the need for stain.

Beeg sent me back out to do more sanding. I think it might have worked.

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Just sanded.

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Wiped with mineral spirits.

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Closeup of some of the problem grain.

It is smooth but because of the wide variety of grain patterns I don't believe it is ever going to look really good. This table top is from a piece of furniture built by a company that specialized in RV furniture (Hi-Lo Furniture, I think). It is either a dining table or a coffee table thus the name Hi-Lo I guess. You can see that it was made by laminating narrow pieces to create the table top. This accounts for the convoluted assortment of grain patterns.

The important part is getting Quality Control approval and 'so far' that is happening.

beeg · Post by **beeg** » Sat Jun 16, 2012 12:51 pm

Look good now. So what was the final grit sandpaper did ya use? I don't think I'd go much over 150 myself. So whats next for this project?

pennview · Post by **pennview** » Sat Jun 16, 2012 1:02 pm

In finishing the table, one possibility is to use gel-stain, which really is a gelled varnish with stain/dye in it. It likely would even out the color. You can simply apply a bit more of the gel-stain in the lighter areas (or less in the darker areas). After evening out the color, you can top it off with a couple of coats of gel-varnish.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sat Jun 16, 2012 1:08 pm

beeg wrote:Look good now. So what was the final grit sandpaper did ya use? I don't think I'd go much over 150 myself. So whats next for this project?

This sanding was done with 150 grit and all that is done is the center of the table. The drop leaves and all the vertical support mechanism is yet to be done. The base of the table can be seen in one of the first four pictures.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sat Jun 16, 2012 1:10 pm

pennview wrote:In finishing the table, one possibility is to use gel-stain, which really is a gelled varnish with stain/dye in it. It likely would even out the color. You can simply apply a bit more of the gel-stain in the lighter areas (or less in the darker areas). After evening out the color, you can top it off with a couple of coats of gel-varnish.

I have never used gel-varnish or gel-stain.

I guess I better get bust deciding which way I am going on the finish.

I have said it before and it is still true. I really dislike wood finishing.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sat Jun 16, 2012 1:35 pm

I think Beeg got you to get below the 'patina'!;)