Refinished Table

I started this blog in June of 2011, however I started completing projects (worthy of sharing with others) in January of 2011.  As I've mentioned before, I used to post my before-and-after pictures on Facebook and recently I learned how to take them from my Facebook photo albums and copy them into my iPhoto albums.

Yay!

I am going to take those projects and do a series of posts because it's those projects that got me into starting my blog.

Post #1:  Refinished Coffee Table

We have a coffee table we purchased at Cost Plus years ago.  It's nothing fancy...it wasn't expensive...and it has been perfect to have around the house with two young children.  One day I noticed how beat up it was looking with so many scratches, scratches that couldn't be touched up with a stain.  The reason the stain wouldn't last (or soak into the wood) was because of the glossy finish, so I decided that the only way to make it look better was to sand off the finish.

Here are some before pictures:

The first step was to tape off the rock top so that it didn't get harmed by the electric sander or the stain.  Once it was covered I went to work with my electric sander.

Ahhhh, bare wood.  Oh, the possibilities!  I decided I wanted to keep the finish dark to match our home and other pieces we have nearby.  I used an oil based stain (Polyurethane) and a couple of coats of clear finish (also Polyurethane.)

The finished product:

It's still a "ho-hum" table, but it works.  I was able to try my hand at finishing my first piece of furniture and I'm okay with the outcome.  Will we have it forever? No.  Will it last a few more years with the kids? Yes.  At least the scratches are gone and it looks better.