When you last saw the farm table, it looked like this.
The table top was SO filthy. Disgustingly filthy. I cleaned it and turned two white wash cloths BLACK. I immediately put a tablecloth over it because I felt like I’d never get it clean enough to eat off of.
This became our Saturday project. Scott used his power sander to remove the old stain and sand down the really rough spots. We wanted the table to still have some personality with its dents and knicks. But, this had chunks of wood missing and was splinter city. I forgot to get a picture of it sanded down and bare.
Here is after one coat of stain and three coats of polycrylic. We used Rust-Oleum stain in the color Kona. I brushed one small area at a time and wiped it off immediately. Remember, always go WITH the grain when you are sanding and staining anything.
Once the stain had sufficiently dried, Scott applied the first layer of Miniwax matte polycrylic. We let that dry for two hours, sanded, did another coat, then it dried overnight. A third layer was put on in the morning after being sanded again. Sand it down after each layer has dried to make it look perfect.
Like my snow-covered shoes? Winter needs to leave immediately.
Anyway, we are thrilled with the way it turned out! This was our first time of ever staining anything. I’ve always felt really intimidated by it, but this was the perfect project. It was surprisingly simple. There are some things that we probably would have done differently, we are still really pleased with how it turned out. It’s perfect.
The kids loved peeking in the garage to see the progress. We ate a lot of meals on the floor while the table was drying, so they were very happy to have a table for breakfast again. It will be covered in art projects, legos, magnetic tiles, and food most of the time, but it is fun to see it bare and pretty.
