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Refinish a wood table?

18 years ago

We have a light natural wood kitchen table, it sits near our desk slider and is now faded to a yellowish color (the leaf was not used and is still the original color) and also the clear coat is peeling off.

My husband would like to refinish it but I don't know the best way to do this and if doing this will have the whole table back to the same color again. Any suggestions or advice? Thanks

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Comment (1)

ericwi
18 years ago
There is no simple and quick way to refinish an old table. You will have to remove the old finish first, using one of several strippers available. Stripping the old finish off could reasonably take 8 to 16 hours of labor. If the stripper contains methylene chloride, or releases any other obnoxious vapors, the work should be done outdoors. With the old finish off, some light sanding will be needed to clean up the surface and prepare it for the new finish. The sanding step might take two hours. Polyurethane varnish is what most people would choose these days for the new finish.
These varnishes are waterproof, not affected by food or drinks containing alcohol, and long-lasting. It might take two hours to apply a coat of varnish, then two days of waiting for it to cure, then an hour of rubbing with steel wool, and another coat of varnish. Two more days of curing, and you are done. As you can see, there is considerable time involved in a project like this. If you like the table, it is worth refinishing.
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