If you want the base of the table, (the pedestal), to be black, you would need to use a flat black paint once the table has been fully stripped of it's present stain/finish. With a black base, I would recommend a mahogany stain for the table top. Personally, I think mahogany blends better with black than walnut does. Have you done this type of refinishing before?

Thanks, nanny! No, I've never done this before, but I visited our local paint store, and the guy gave me step-by-step instructions. I did buy the mahogany stain, so that's what I was leaning towards. So...mahogany top rather than the black top? Oh, and the guy said that I only needed to strip the stain if I was going to restain, not if I was going to paint over it. Is that true? Thanks again!

I repainted our table's legs and the chair backs and legs a year ago. I don't have an original picture, but here's how it is now. The black areas were previously a pale yellow. All I did was sand it down a bit, so it wasn't as smooth, then as recommended by SW primed it in a dark gray/black color, then the high gloss enamel paint. It's been scrubbed over and over and has held up wonderfully. And I mean it when I say it's been scrubbed--my little ones love to touch anything they can get their sweet little hands onto when pasta sauce is involved it seems! As you can see, my table top is a lighter finish, as our my cabinets. I would definitely stain the top, rather than paint it black if I were you. HTH

{{!gwi}}

I'm going to be doing my oak pedestal table this fall. Black pedestal with mahogany gel stain applied on the top of the table.

Wow! That looks gorgeous. That's exactly what I wanted to do to the chairs, too. Did it take a long time? I'm going to go ahead and stain the top a mahogany. Wish me luck!

Most wood furniture has a varnish or polyurethane finish coat on it that would need to be stripped off first - whether you plan to stain or paint the surface. I suggested flat black paint for the pedestal because you said you were thinking about a distressed look. Most of the distressed pieces I've seen have a flat, satin or low gloss finish, not a high gloss finish like the table that mpmg46 did.

I'm showing you a sample of what I'm talking about on the link below. If you notice the distressed finish on this desk, you'll see that it isn't as high gloss as the table that mpmg46 did. If you want distressed, you need to use flat or satin finish paint.

For the top, I would recommend a mahogany gel stain.

The type of paint would determine the amount of "shine" on the finished piece.

Here is a link that might be useful: distressed finish

Thanks again, nanny. I do like the flat black, and that's what I'm planning on doing. Thanks also for the advice on using a gel stain. Can you get that at Home Depot? Also, do I need to apply a poly coat to the top to protect it?

Definitely don't use high gloss if you want a distressed look...I somehow missed that in your post! Oops! Thanks for correcting me nanny, so that she didn't end up with the wrong thing. Is there a way to use enamel in a flat or satin I wonder? SW told me to use it, so that it would "stick" better and since it's dries to a harder finish, it doesn't chip or rub off.

I guess you can still have an idea of what the end product will be--black with a wood top (yours darker than mine) though.

As for the painting, I brought the chairs outside last summer for 2 or 3 afternoons and did it there. It didn't take long and they dried much faster being outside. I did not do it on the really hot days of summer though, so it was actually a nice way to spend my afternoons. I found it to be relaxing, once I stopped stressing over whether or not I was doing the wrong thing! I brought 2 neighbors over to give me confidence that my DH wasn't going to freak out when he got home!

I think you would need to use a polyurethane finish of sometype on top of the flat paint. You can get it in different finishes just like paint. It gives a hardness and protects the paint. I just painted a cabinet, lightly antiqued it and then put a polyurethant on it in an eggshell finish which is what that PB chest looks like it has.

You will definitly have to put a food safe polyurethane on top of the gel stain, but make sure the gel stain is thouroughly dried first (may take a 1-2 weeks)
You will also have to make sure that the table is sanded well or the stain & paint will chip or wear off. Take it from me...I gel stained our oak stair handrail and didn't sand it first...now guess what I get to do?? Start all over, sand it, gel stain it, & poly it.

mpmg46 - you shouldn't have worried that your DH would freak out, I think you did a beautiful job on your chairs and table! They look as though they were that finish originally - it's very professional. I didn't mean to sound as though your suggestion wasn't right, just wanted to make sure that clueless got the type of finished look that she wanted.

Cluelessinva, you should be able to get all the paints and polyurethane that you need at Home Depot. If you have any questions, the tech in the paint department should know how to advise you.
Heidi

Thanks Heidi. You are too kind! I wasn't offended at all; please don't think that! I would have just felt awful if Cluelessinva had gotten a high gloss paint and lost her distressed look because I distracted her. So I was really glad that you picked up on that and shared it. By the way, I just saw your kitchen in your other post. You've done a beautiful job!!)

Cluelessinva--I feel mean typing that!! LOL! I can't wait to see how your table looks when you finish it. I hope you'll post a picture here. Good luck!

Thanks, everyone for all your help! I got started on the base yesterday, and I'll definitely post when I'm done. Quick question--do you think a polyurethane finish is necessary for the base or do you think that would make it too shiny?

mpmg46, don't feel bad...I AM clueless:)

can't wait to see how your project works out!

You do not need to poly the painted base, just the top that you stain. Also, you may want to try the mahogany stain on the bottom of the table to make sure you get the color you want before applying to the top.

when you distress the painted area, will you use the mahogany stain so it coordinates w/ the top? I would love to see pics of how you work this out as I have a kitchen island that I painted the base black and have not yet found the food grade Tung oil for the top butcher block. I would like to distress the base but I am not sure how to do it so they match.

Good luck and please keep us posted!