DIY Basics- How To Refinish a Wood Table

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DIY Basics- How To Refinish a Wood Table

You saw the diamond in the rough and picked up that old wood table at a garage sale or thrift store. But now what? This DIY Basics post gives you all the tips and tricks you'll need to learn how to refinish a wood table. Turn your thrift store find into an easy DIY project!

Friends and family have told me I have a table problem. I just love to refinish tables. I currently have one in my kitchen and one in my dining room. One in the craft room and of course there’s accent tables and coffee tables through out my house. Today I am sharing with you my process for how to refinish a wood table plus some tips for getting the look you want.

5 Steps to Refinish a Wood Table Top

1. Sand using various sandpaper grits. Depending on the current surface I’ll start with 80 or 120. Then I work my way up to 220 or even higher.

2. Wipe surface clean with a clean cloth. Use a vacuum if needed.

3. Stain or paint the surface. Let dry.

4. Apply a protective finish. I like to use a rub on poly. You will probably need more than one coat.

5. Sand in between layers with steel wool or a fine grit sandpaper.

Stained Table Top

A stained table top is classic. My favorite stain colors are Dark Walnut and Classic Grey from Minwax. When staining a table top you will want to make sure you wipe off any excess. Stain is not like painting and is not meant to cover up the wood grain.

You saw the diamond in the rough and picked up that old wood table at a garage sale or thrift store. But now what? This DIY Basics post gives you all the tips and tricks you'll need to learn how to refinish a wood table. Turn your thrift store find into an easy DIY project!

Painted Table Top

Painted table tops can be beautiful too. If you are refinishing a table top that will have a lot of use, like kids at the dinner table kind of use then I wouldn’t suggest paint. Accent tables and coffee tables look amazing with a painted update. If there is chipped or scratched paint you will need to follow the steps above. If the surface is good you can paint over the surface. Chalk paint and milk paint are a couple types of paint that adheres to many surface types.

I just love how milk paint turned this accent table in to a fabulous farmhouse statement piece.

You saw the diamond in the rough and picked up that old wood table at a garage sale or thrift store. But now what? This DIY Basics post gives you all the tips and tricks you'll need to learn how to refinish a wood table. Turn your thrift store find into an easy DIY project!

White Washed Table Top

I recently stained and white washed a table top. I just fell in love with the white washed look! Start by staining, then using a white paint you can either dry brush (barely dip the brush in the paint and brush on until the paint on the brush runs out) or white wash (water down white paint and brush on the stained table top, wipe off excess). Between coats wipe on stain. This helps make the white paint not so bright and harsh. I used both techniques on this table top.

You saw the diamond in the rough and picked up that old wood table at a garage sale or thrift store. But now what? This DIY Basics post gives you all the tips and tricks you'll need to learn how to refinish a wood table. Turn your thrift store find into an easy DIY project!

For more great restoration and DIY inspiration, make sure to check out Jessica’s site, My DIY Envy.

Tell us… Which of these methods would you try? Do you have a thrift store or garage sale find waiting for a DIY update?

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3 Comments

  1. Carole Dube says:

    I refinish my kitchen table last year and it was lots of work. It was an old oak table with the claw legs. It was a lot of work to sand, took me forever. I stain the table top. Use with for the base and chair, I use chalk paint but decided not to distressed. I love the wax finish.

  2. Victoria Ess says:

    I’d love to try the whitewashed look! I much prefer the stained look to the painted look for most wood projects!

  3. Your ideas look amazing, thank you for sharing! I have one wood table at home, but to my shame, I keep it hidden in a corner on the balcony. Now that I see your results, I am encouraged to do something about it.