Can I strip just the top of a table, please?
by
Linda Hunt
+4
It was my son's grandmother' table and only the top has large water stains that came over a few decades of use. If I were to purchase the best painter's tape on the market(?) would the seal hold the stripper off the bottom and legs? We would love to keep the bottom, strip the top and experiment with Spit stains or alcohol based paints and then giving it three coats of a poly to protect it in it's role as plant table in our home which will eventually go to my son when I am finished with it, LOL. We all die so I say we have fun with the damn idea if we have no control. Snorting with laughter here!! Thank you for the opportunity go pose my question and do enjoy the DIY's with the lovely summer. Thanks, Linda
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I don't think I'd trust painters tape for that job . Maybe there are some gel stripping agents out there somewhere someone could suggest ? Otherwise , I'd just sand it, prime it and go from there .
Linda, As long as the family is in agreement with you, who am I to be a nay-sayer ;) In fact I would probably join you if I lived nearby LOL .... if it doesn't look right, or if something goes wrong, you learn from it and try try again, right? What if caveman would have been reluctant to try out his idea about making a wheel after seeing a rock roll down a hill? We still wouldn't have roller skates! LOL Have a good time with it! I would love to hear back from you about how things went :) Thanks for coming to Hometalk for answers LOL :)
You can try the hot iron technique to remove the water stains. Easy to find on google.
I would use paint remover very carefully, you don't have to ruin the rest to do the top. painters tape will just fall off with paint remover. I assume you are using the blue or green tape. It is to keep water from getting under the tape, not paint remover.
Have you thought of using chalk paint? It's my understanding that you don't have to strip or sand first.
No real need to strip the top. Just lightly sand to remove any gloss and roughen the surface for paint. Prime with a good stain blocking primer like Zinsser 123 or Bin. Then unlock the creative artist in you.
I agree with C. D. Scallin.
I refinished an old table top. It had some heat damage /cracks but the rest of the table was fine. (someone used it as an ironing board to many times :O)
I just sanded it down and used a marine grade verathane to finish it. Never have to worry about water spots again.. Pretty resistant to heat spots too... Any white marks disappear as it cools again.. is my experience with it. I put 3 coats on it .
It turned out so well I did another table top I refurbished from the second hand store for $20
Good luck on your project :)