Refinishing the kitchen table

[Nathan Dekens]

Im currently in the process of refinishing the kitchen table after 10 years of abuse from the boys. Its oak veneer over MDF and im currently carefully sanding the old finish off. Im only doing the table top and will be trying to find a minwax stain from the local orange store that will come close to the rest of the table.

My question is what should I do other then stain?

I was thinking sand -> stain -> several coats of wipe on poly gel?


I want a hard durable finish that will take the abuse for another 10 years until I decide to make my own kitchen table. My biggest concern other then sanding through the veneer is causing it to peel up during the finishing process because im not that smart in the finishing area.

Thanks!

[Neal Clayton]

anything but poly.

rubbery, doesn't stick to anything that well, not very hard, looks like plastic.

if you want hard, durable, relatively easy to apply...an oil varnish such as behlen's or waterlox or similar would be the ticket. they cure pretty slow so they're easy to brush or wipe with good results since they level themselves very well as they dry. they are harder that polyurethane by quite a bit, so will wear much better. they aren't nearly as picky about adhesion as poly varnishes are either, they should stick to anything free of wax just fine.

i would apply the stain once you get to that point, then spray a couple of clear coats of shellac as a barrier and 'smooth' coat and lightly sand that to get it smooth to the touch, then go ahead with the top coats, 2 of them to ensure even coverage everywhere.

[Nathan Dekens]

Okay, just so I got this straight your saying to sand -> stain -> shellac -> oil varnish?

[Scott Holmes]

Sanding is a poor choice to remove old finish... even if you are careful.

A chemical stripper is much better, especailly if you plan to stain it.. Sanding does not get all the finish out of the grain unless you remove a lot of wood; like you do when you sand a floor.

Strip, light sanding if needed, stain, shellac (or varnish) seal coat, then tops coat 4-6 brush coats for a heavy use table. Behlen's Rock Hard Tabletop varnish (phenolic resin/linseed oil varnish) or Waterlox original (phenolic resin/tung oil varnish)

I light sand between coats 2 & 4 or 5. With quality non-poly varnish you CAN sand between coats; you do NOT have the "MUST sand" rule as you do with poly.

[Nathan Dekens]

Well I just finished up the sanding down to 220 grit. Got pretty much all the finish off but I wont know until I apply the stain to see where I missed.

Anyways, I will deffinatly try the chemical stripper next time.

Scott, you said 4-6 top coats, is that 4-6 top coats of varnish or shellac? such as that rock hard tabletop varnish you mentioned?

So far it sounds like I will do the following:

stain -> shellac seal coat -> 4-6 coats of varnish?

[Scott Holmes]

Yes varnish... Shellac seal coat is one or 2 light coats.

[Howard Acheson]

Let me add to Scott's admonition about sanding. Sanding will not do a good job of removing the finish from the pores of oaks. Second, if you are dealing with an oak veneer then you will not be able to sand very aggressively without the chance of sanding through the veneer.

The best way to remove an existing finish if you are going to re-stain, is to use a chemical paint remover containing methylene chloride. It will do the best job of removing all the finish. If you leave any residue, the residue will negatively affect the coloring of any stain applied.

While I do not like poly varnish for most applications, one that does make sense is for an everyday kitchen table. It's negatives relating to clarity are made up by it's increased durability and ability to resist scratches and abrasions. The only non-poly finishes that rival poly it these regards are Waterlox Original or Behlen Rockhard.

[Mike Null]

Poly is a superior finish for this application. Mine is now 12 years old and still looks good. My kitchen table takes more abuse than my workbench and I swear by poly.

I used wipe on poly for my chairs--5 coats--and they are holding up well.

[Jim Becker]

Mike, I'm happy that you've had good luck with the polyurethane on your table. My experience has unfortunately been the opposite...the only furniture project I've ever used the stuff was my kitchen table and it looks like, well...something I can't really say here. It's about to get totally refinished because it's worn so badly in many areas.

[Neal Clayton]

it's not just how it wears, either. it looks like plastic. furniture finishes should have a sheen that separates them from random floors and trim and such. they should look 'better' for lack of another word.