Because of the condition of the table, It had been marked down several times and in the end I paid $55.00 for it.
My supplies were:
° A gallon of Red latex paint. Re Store (Habitat for Humanity)
° A Quart Mini-Wax Jacobean wood Stain (Home Depot)
° Martha Stewart Metallic paint
° A couple old flour towels (Sometimes linen)
° A cheap paint brush or stain brush (Usually a sponge on a brush handle)
° Palm Sander
° Some 80,100,150,200,250 grit sanding paper
° Some Lacquer remover. I used Klean-Strip Spray stripper. You'll have to figure out what kind of finishing coat was used so you can buy the appropriate stripping agent. This stuff is HIGHLY TOXIC. Make sure you adhere to all the instructions and warnings on the label.
° A scraper
° Gloves
° A dust mask
° Fabric and upholstering items
I first removed the seat cushions, turning them upside down and pulling out all the screws. I recommend you keep all your hardware in a plastic, sealable sandwich bag or something similar. This helps you find them ALL in a couple weeks (or months as in my case) when the project is done. I also removed the table legs. I sprayed on the Simple Green Cleaner, scrubbed the chairs and table with a stiff tire brush (Not wire) and let them dry. Because the set was in such bad condition I actually sanded some of the grime off of the chairs even after cleaning them.
I really debated how much effort I wanted to put into this refinishing project. I find that if they take too long, I loose interest and then I'm on to the next thing. So that I didn't get overwhelmed, I took it in steps. First I decided that the tabletop needed to be darker. I knew that for sure. So I striped it down.
To do this I used the KLEAN-STRIP. First I wore my dust mask, put on gloves, and placed a fan behind me, blowing the air out the garage doors so as to not inhale the fumes too badly. It is really important that you have good air circulation and that the chemicals do not touch your skin. I sprayed on a generous amount on a 1'x1' strip to make sure it was going to work. It took leaving it on for about 20 minutes before It started to bring up the factory finish. I had to do it about 2-3 times. Spraying, setting 20 minutes, scraping and repeating. After this was done I used Mineral Spirits to wipe off the excess. Make sure you dispose of your scrapings and rags properly.
Next is sanding. Sand, sand, then sand again. Start with a low grit (Very coarse) about 80 or so and work up to about 150. Hang in there, the sanding will soon be done! It is really important to remove every last trace of finish. When you are done, use fox tail brush and/or damp rag to remove all traces of dust. It is important to sweep up after sanding then to wipe down the table. This eliminates dust settling on the table after you've wiped it down. Let the table sit overnight and wipe it down one more time the next day, before you begin staining.
Now stain can be applied many ways. I used both a stain brush and an old flour cloth to see which I liked best. In the end I liked the cloth better. Wipe the Stain on and let is soak about 15-25 Minutes. Defryn demonstrates in this picture. When I went to wipe it off I use the same towel because I do not want to wipe it all clean off.
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I push harder on some swipes and lighter on others so as to get a more worn look.Make sure you go with the grain when your doing this. My grain was sideways across the table.
I applied 3 coats of stain, sanding with 250 grit in between going with the grain
When the staining and sanding was complete, I distressed the surface. I used many tools. A waffle hammer, a saw blade, a large flat head screw driver, a Phillips bit and some other miscellaneous things. I beat the table top with the hammer in various places, rolled the saw blade back and forth to create a 6-8: rough line, tapped the head of the screw driver and bits with a hammer to create little impressions in the wood, etc.
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Pictured below:
On the very left is where I laid a large screw down a smashed it into the table in several consecutive places to make those hash lines. They are fairly deep into the table which I like. Some people might find it hard to keep grime out of there though. Just above and to the right is where I hit it with a waffel hammer. in the center going vertivaly is where I rolled the sawblade back and forth to create about an 8" rough line. To the far right in the picture is where I used a flat head screw driver and a hammer.
You can see in this picture below that I tapped a flat head screwdriver with a hammer in four different places to make this pattern.
Now I debated about repainting everything else white, going turquoise, black distressed, etc. I found pictures of tables online that other people had done and I could have gone any number of ways with it. I had landed on black and was going to distress the finish to make it look old world like. I had recently been to the Re-store (Habitat for humanity) and bought a couple gallons of paint. One red, one black. I opened the black paint and realized it was acrylic and very watery. It wasn't gonna work on my table and chairs. I was ready to paint. I wanted to paint. I did not want to go to the store and buy more paint. I popped open the red and said "Red is a good color......I like red........who doesn't like red?" Red it was.
My grandparents were in town late September. We sat around our old kitchen table every night and played card games, well into the night. Now, I love my original, antique table. It was my first project when I was 18. I stained it and recovered the chairs. It is a beautiful table. The issues are 1) that Four people fit at it nicely. Six people = crowded. Number 2) due to the lack of cushioning, they are 30 minute chairs not 2 hour chairs. The uncomfortableness of my bum made my mind wander to the table with the great cushioned chairs sitting out in my garage. I decided I was going to KEEP the new set. ☺
After my visitors left, I worked like a mad woman to get it done. I painted a 4ft length of 2"x4" and held it up under the tables edge to make sure I would like the red. It looked fabulous! I went to work.
Painting chairs, all 6 of them. It was a lot of tedious work. I did not prime or sand the chairs down. I just painted over top of what was there. Three coats later I was tired of painting chairs. However, I still was not finished.
There is this fabulious Martha Stewart Cast Bronze Metallic Paint that I love! I used a small paint brush (1/4" wide) to fill in the carvings and then used a sponge to wipe it down and feather it across the whole area around the carvings. In the morning sunlight, it shimmers just enough to make me smile.
After it all was dry, I sprayed the chairs with a clear satin finish. I am not entirely happy with the 2 different brands I tried. One was Krylon and I do not remember the other brand anymore. They both came from walmart. Though they said "Clear" on the can, they still seem to make the red a little foggy in places. I did use Deft clear wood finish gloss for the table top and I am very happy with it.
I pulled the old upholstery off and recovered it with some really nice red upholstery. I had bought it at a big discount. I think it was originally $30 a yard and I paid $4 per yard. I did purchase it when I thought I was going to be painting the table black. It would have been a nice contrast. I like the red fabric but I think at some point I will redo that part. I like prints on chairs so we will have to see what I find at a bargain price this coming year.
It really is a good idea to let everything dry for about 2 weeks before you put it in your house. I noticed that after about a month, it is just finally hardened up like it should. I put it in my house about 4-5 days after the finish coat and in the process of trying to put cushions back on, I nicked it in a few places. I should say, Defryn nicked it since he was the one with the drill☺
In all I am extremely happy with the end result. I love how much character it adds to our kitchen eating area. Also, I have noticed after dinner, we tend to linger at the table instead of heading straight for the couch. The chairs are big and comfy.
It is hard to figure out exactly how much I spent. I had a lot of things like sanding paper and such, to begin with. The red paint was $8.50 at the Re-store (Amazing!). The stain was around $25 , Metallic paint $6, both at The Home Depot. The fabric was $22 at a specialty upholstery shop. The clear finishing spray was about $20 total. So considering that the table was $55.00, I did this whole project for under $150. By the way, It is a solid wood, Ashley set☺
My Thanks are to my husband for helping me when I needed it. As you can see in the pictures, he did his part.
