Things Not To Half A**- Refinishing Furniture

Brace yourself. No, I mean really. I am about to reveal the ultimate Goodwill find.

Would you believe me if I told you this table cost $5.40? I wouldn't believe me either if I wasn't there!

Let's take a journey. A story of a table top that was from Ashley Furniture {originally priced at $350} that had no legs.

I spotted this guy at my local Goodwill and I instantly had a vision for it. I need a craft table for my craft room transformation, right? Something sturdy that I could paint. Plus, it had a pop up leaf {!!} I couldn't go wrong!

Legless table. Poor table

I'm going to show you step by step how this poor little table top has become the beauty he is today!

Like I said, he had no legs. I went to Lowe's and picked up four wooden table legs. They fit perfectly and looked like they were there the day this table was born. {I gotta say, there are some cool ass table legs at Lowe's}

I used Gorilla Wood Glue to secure the legs in place and let it dry over night. This glue is great for touch ups too because it dries clear.

Get your drill out and probably one of the biggest bits ya got! I drilled my gigantic holes just in the center of the leg and secured the legs on with a huge screw and washer.

Now, I appreciated his beat up look, but only to an extent. I used some wood filler to fill in some of his deeper gouges. Wood filler is super easy to use. Follow these steps:

Smush!

Let it dry then lightly sand until it's smooth. Give the whole piece a good rough up with your sandpaper so the primer has something to stick to.

Don't mind the fat kitty belly

I used a oil based primer by Kilz. Oil based primers tend to stick to the surface more. So keep in mind since this is oil based you'll either have to have some mineral spirits on hand for clean up or a disposable cheapy brush like I used. Also, open some windows, it's stinky!

I slapped on two coats because the table top was so dark. Remember no glopping on. Make sure you have smooth even strokes because it will show up when you're finished. You don't want phantom racing strips now, do ya?

I used a flat interior paint from Valspar at Lowe's in White Coffee. The finish of the paint doesn't matter since we'll be putting a top coat of Polycrylic on. I put two coats of the interior paint on him too.

Let that sucker completely dry. Preferably over night.

Now that our table is starting to look pretty, we don't want to chip it or have it all gouged up right? That's what Polycrylic is for. I used a water-based Polycrylic by Minwax.

I learned the hard way on this last step. When I refinished my bedroom furniture, the Lowe's man failed to tell me not to A} Stir too vigorously {that create bubbles that will transfer when you paint it on}, and B} not to use a small roller to apply {also creates bubbles}. Go find the finest brush you can. I used a stain brush and a tiny very soft and fine brush from Walmart.



Every stoke you make will show if it is goopy or uneven, so please keep that in mind. The directions on the can say to allow it to dry two hours in between coats, so I did just that.

I wouldn't set anything on the piece for a few days just so it can dry.

And there you have it!

I also posted this in my Redo Gallery so if you don't want to search for this posting you can access it there as well. I also posted my bedroom furniture redo in there also {this is for you Laurie!!}