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Any idea what is on this?

17 years ago

We bought a table about 5 years ago now at Ames before they closed. It's a pine table with honey pine finish. The table is small itself but we also have a small bench and then a large L shaped bench for in the corner.

Whatever they used to seal the table did not hold up long. I think maybe within a few months, the table top was looking dull. I have hated it ever since then! I mean, I love the design of the table, just hate the finish.

I got the brainy idea to tile the table top about two years ago. I measured everything out and got to work but when I was finished, the tile was not lined up as planned. Some tiles started to lift within months and again..I hated my table. So I ended up removing the tile, sanding for hours and trying to apply stain and ended up with the wrong color of stain so I stopped.

For the last two years, I have been covering the table with a table cloth so we don't have to look at the mess and I'm just tired of it! I tried to use strippers (two kinds because I'm not sure what is on it) to remove all the finish so that I can totally refinish the whole table in a different color (the honey pine really isn't a fav of mine) with no success. I have also used oven cleaner to strip furniture in the past and again, no luck here. It seems the only thing I can do is drag the table outside and sand for days but I can't do that now that cold weather is here and I didn't have time to do it this summer (Too many other projects). We don't have a garage or basement where I can work either. Is there anything I can do to strip it without having my house filled with dust?

I am thinking about using PolyShades because I do want to go darker. I know a lot of people complain about PolyShades but I have used it in the past and the project turned out really nice. I think the key is to realize it's not like regular stain so the finished look won't look the same.

Any advice? I think I'm going to go insane if I have to look at this mess another winter. Being cooped up inside really gets me thinking about the inside and I'll go insane with this table by spring. I've left it go too long now!

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Comments (3)

lindac
17 years ago
Is the table smooth? And just the wrong color?
I suggest not doing a "quick fix". You tried that before and are still regretting it.
If you can find just one nice day to drag the table outside and sop on stripper and wash it off, then you can finish in the house.
If you had simply put a coat of poly over the original finish when it started looking bad, you would have avoided a lot of mess.
Pe patient....what's one more winter?
Linda C
sweets98
Original Author
17 years ago
I have tried stripper...two kinds and neither seemed to get anywhere. And the problem is I really can't take the L shaped bench outside. It's too large and would require taking it apart and then it won't sit on it's own. Also, I don't have an area to work on it at unless it's in the driveway and every time I even thought about it, they would call for rain or something. It would take a few days to complete.

DH and I have talked about it. I used the PolyShades on the dresser and we like it. I really only used it at that time because they didn't have the regukar stain in the color I wanted. The dresser looks great and I would use PolyShades again. Of course if I hate it, am I really worse off? I'll be back to square one basically.

And there is always paint. We have a country style so I have even thought about doing the vertical surfaces in paint and leaving the horizontal areas stained wood.

I probably won't start for a few days or so so I'll keep on thinking about it.
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patches123
17 years ago
Problem with polyshades on a high use piece is that the color will wear off quick. Be sure to put a coat of clear poly over it. I think either way you will need to do some sanding.

I think I would prime and paint using quality primer and paint.

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