refinishing tables

[Pam]

Wondering if either of you (fish, smoke) has refinished a dining room table? Did a bit of research and not finding much. Did find out that I should not have sanded my table but should have "refinished" it instead. Little too late for that info. Didnt realize that refinishing meant going over the existing finish.

Anyway....anyone have any idea how many coats of polyurethane I should put on the top? I dont want to have to worry about it getting wet or spilled on. I have 4 coats on already. Definitely needs more I know but just not sure how many. Online I have read anywhere between 8 and 15.

Just thought I'd see if either of you had any experience with this.

Have a Tree-Mendous day!

[Smoke]

Stuff that I have "re~done" I've taken down to bare wood and sanded. You mentioned veneer before, not sure how that is different but I would still think the old varnish would need to be removed.

Couple things I found is make sure it is DRY between coats, don't rush it. The more coats the deeper the look. steel wool lightly between coats, makes for a better finish. but make sure to get all the dust off again before the next coat.

Not sure I helped or not.

[fish]

Oh, Pam, Oh, Oh, Oh.

How good is the table ?

If it is a really good one, you may want to start over.

My refinishing work on the good stuff has involved taking it to the wood, and then working it back up.

Chemical strippers, gentle scraping, coarse sanding, medium sandng, fine sanding, very fine sanding, buffing. First coat. Very fine sanding, buffing. Second coat, very fine sanding, buffing, etc.

A lot of work, but well worth it.

The new products give a much better result without as much work. Lowes will have them. Used to be Fornby's and the like.

Getting the pineapples on the headboard and footboards clean, and then getting them finished without clogging the detail work was a bear.

[Pam]

Smoke, been wondering if steel wool was the best to use. Thats what I have been using and I am making sure its dry. After that one 10 hour day of sanding, finger tips bleeding, I'm not about to take any short cuts.

Fish, I did sand it, and sanded and sanded and sanded. In fact I did exactly what you did, the stripper, scraping, then the sanding.

Its my grandmothers table. Not really sure how "good" it is but there is a lot of sentimental value there. Jack was helping me sand it. A real pain as there is a lot of scrolling, unsure if thats what you call it. We put in 20 hours of sanding between us in one day alone. The legs look beautiful. They are pedestal legs with 3 legs coming off each pedestal. The top has some nicks in it. My mom wants me to leave them...I'm sure she remembers exactly how each of them was made and she thinks it adds character.

The nicks don't bother me but the places I sanded through the veneer do. One small area and one about 5" by about 1.5". Its not completely through in the entire area but enough. I keep calling it character but doesn't seem to be helping. Did check into it how to fix it and apparently the only real way to fix it is to cut out a piece of veneer from someplace else on the table and put it in. Not something I am going to even try to attempt and really dont think the table is worth what it would cost to have it done.

I dont have the chairs that go with it. When my parents added on to their house they threw them out So going to hit some antique shops this summer and see what I can find. I have a buffet that goes with the table, really nice piece. I'll refinish that this summer.

Thanks for the advice guys. I knew I could count on you.

Fish, curious, what did you use to get the pineapples cleaned out?

[fish]

Your mother is correct. At the auctions appropriate "character" does not diminish value too much.

Steel wool is right too.

And rubber gloves.

But if you are doing the job on a veneer, wow.

I have seen a veneer repair that involved mixing stain into poly to match, and tracing patterns to match into the stained poly as it sets. This becomes the base.

Gotta be sure that the poly matches when dry, so have to let some set, perhaps on underside of table.

on the pinapples, ultimately I set the board upside down with the pineapple in pails of stripper. After a the stripper had a chance to work used paperclips to clean the groves.

Great fun.

fish