Taking it all off...

A few weeks ago, I saw this coffee table advertised on Craigslist.

The top was a little rough, but it had nice lines, it was cheap - $15, I didn't have a coffee table, and after spending hours perusing over other's creative blogs, I knew I had the creative tools to transform this find into something I could use.

So onto refurbishing...

First came the lovely process of stripping off the top coat. It was a lot of work and took about 6 hours to fully strip it. I used an eco- friendly stripper ( that doesn't sound quite right - now does it? ) that didn't smell so toxic. My two daughters helped a long the way, doing some sanding etc. I wasn't quite sure what type of wood it was, but figured it was pretty soft wood. When it was completely stripped, I determined that it was pine, perfect for a first project.

Next came sanding, priming, and painting the legs. After several different tries, I settled on Rustoleums' Heirloom White - satin finish.

Then it was prepping the top surface with MinWax Pre Stain Wood Conditioner, which I already had on hand from another project. By the way, always follow directions on products. I decided to neglect the instructions on the can of Plastic Wood and filled the holes in BEFORE I stained it... It didn't work and was next to impossible to absorb the stain properly.

Finally, I did 3 separate applications of MinWax's Stain - Special Walnut. After that, if was MULTIPLE layers of MinWax's Polycrylic seal in a semi-gloss. It's a water based sealant that will take a beating more than the polyurethane, and won't yellow over time. Yes, I did learn all of these tips on the Internet... my lifeline.

So here is the finished project. Does it have lots of flaws? Oh yes, but it was fun and I learned a lot. So next on my wish list? A simple palm sander... electric of course. Doing things by hand takes awhile.