Actually, I did get one thing accomplished. This is my new kitchen table.
As you can see, I have the before and after. I bought the table for $30 and spent way too much to refinish it. Although, the amount I spent to refinish it is still less than what I could've bought a new table for so I guess I did okay.
(Click to get the full effect.)After that, you use spray paint (if you don't want to get laughed at then you can use a brush and a can of paint) and do as many coats as your finger can handle (from pushing the trigger). I'm just kidding...for graffiti artists everywhere, spray paint companies have come up with a cool handle that fits on your can so your finger doesn't fall off after you've painted your mural on the side of that church. I'm not naming any names...Chelsi. I'm kidding. Maybe. Anyways, I did four coats just to make sure I covered it all up. Make sure you sand between each coat.
Then, take your sand paper and rough up a few spots to make it look like you threw it in the street and ran over it. That will give it the antique look.
Next, find a stain you think you can live with to cover it. I'd tell you what color I used but I'm too lazy to walk from the computer room to the garage and look. It was a dark stain. Use a rag and apply your stain, leaving it on as dark as you'd like it. Then wipe it off. After you've achieved the look you want, it's time to varnish, poly, coat, whatever you want to call it.
Now here's the very important part that you need to listen closely to. Do not under any circumstances feel the need to get a little wild and crazy and start throwing your poly can, opened, around the garage. It really does make a mess. And then you just have to buy a new can of poly. And they're kind of spendy.
Use a sponge brush or a varnish brush and apply 3-4 coats, sanding between each one. And there you have it. The 21 day way to refinish a table. If you talk to my sister though, she has a 3-6 month way to refinish a table. Hers probably turned out tons better than mine.
You'll notice that the top of the table is black. We had planned on staining it dark but scrapped that after a total mishap. The top of the table had a stain on it and when we sanded away the stain, it sanded away more of the table than we had hoped. So that when we went to stain it, that area was darker then the rest. We tried many times to achieve perfection but each time it was snatched away from our grasp. Hence, the black top. I like it better that way anyways.
The table in it's new home. I can't show you the chairs because they're top secret, very special chairs. Actually, there's no chairs because there's no chairs. The ones we have are from our previous set and don't match. And I'm NOT refinishing those. It's worth the money to buy new chairs.(You won't believe it, but having that word by itself on a line is really bugging me. I spent five minutes trying to get it on the line above, but now I give up. I just won't read this post again.)
The vinyl above the table. People walk in and are a little shocked by it. So far, nobody has said they hated it. The reaction is more of, "It's different, but I like it."It says "live the present". Which is my new motto.
(If anyone wants one of these, for FREE of course, let me know. I kept messing up on measurements so I have a few.)
