I want to refinish this table...need help!

Donna Ring
by Donna Ring
I am not sure what wood my table is made of or what finish is on it. It appears to be some type of wax maybe? You can feel the grain with your hands and see that parts are slightly raised..any help and guidance would be greatly appreciated! Scared of streaky stain....lol
  19 answers
  • Fab and Pretty Fab and Pretty on Jan 21, 2015
    Awesome table! Take a good look at the ends and underside. If that grain is all united it's a solid top. I would actually hand block sand just the top, in the direction of the grain, with a light grit. Give it a good wipe with a damp cloth to see if your marks are gone. Once they are gone, sand with a really fine grit again in the direction of the grain. Once you have a great smooth finish damp wipe, tack cloth wipe. Damp wipe again before you apply your stain to match the rest of the table. (the dampness allows for a more even penetration) Follow with protective coat of your choice, the paint store experts should be able to talk to you about the different top coat products...you may want to consider just a tung (sp corr!) oil!
  • CK CK on Jan 21, 2015
    My hubby and I refinished my mom & dad's antique dining table and all its leaves. What a project! It's oak BTW. Donna Larsen has given you a lot of great pointers. I'll add just a couple. Because my parent's table is so big we waited for warm weather and took it outside to sand with an electric sander. The leaves and the table top weren't all the same color stain so we took everything (just the top...not the legs) back to bare wood. We followed the method to a "T" that the paint store suggested. Then we used an all in one stain/varnish to finish it. We got VERY lucky in that I picked a color that was exactly like the legs and apron of the table! It's very hard to match up old stain colors sometimes. Wish I had pics to show you.....but suffice it to say, it looked new again without any water or burn marks or scratches...and now all the leaves and the table top match too! The project took several days but it was worth it.
  • Donna Ring Donna Ring on Jan 21, 2015
    @Fab and Pretty do you think Tung oil would be alright with it getting blazing afternoon sun? I have painted a lot of furniture and had great success, but this table has me intimidated! I want to only redo the top. @CK you are scaring me to death about matching stain!! Something else I will have to worry about! lol.
  • Fab and Pretty Fab and Pretty on Jan 21, 2015
    Best to talk to a paint expert about the Tung oil...I know it's used on deck. With refinishing the whole top of your table as long as your match is extremely close you should be golden! Connie had to deal with mis-matched leaves, but re-did the whole top of her table and she loves it! This is a great learning project for you...it's one piece, flat and no paint removal!
    • CK CK on Jan 21, 2015
      @Fab and Pretty Actually, the table I mentioned was my parents table ;-)
  • Gail Salminen Gail Salminen on Jan 21, 2015
    Donna Ring (had the wrong name here so came back to change it - sorry) I think you have some great advise above. Sand with the grain, clean well before staining. When applying the stain use some cheese cloth and dip in the stain then rub into the table in the direction of the grain - this will help prevent it from running over the sides and give better control for the application. I would avoid the tung oil - I read somewhere that it isn't the best to use for indoor furniture - I think they were talking about teak, but I don't think it would be different for other woods.
  • Brandilyn Towne Brandilyn Towne on Jan 21, 2015
    I use to have what looks to be the exact same table. Lol. We bought it used and it had all kinds of crayon and marker stains. My hubby sanded it down with an electric sander, and I would not recommend that. It left the table uneven. I would hand sand it. Don't worry about leaving streaks, because most stains, you will wipe some of it off after you apply it. Make sure you go with the grain of the wood though. After you get the darkness that you want by applying the stain until it get to be the color you like, then you will need to seal it. Just get a good wood furniture sealer which shouldn't cost much and apply the seal with the grain of the wood and don't touch it. Now, with all that being said, I luv your table. I think it just needs a little love and it will look new again. There is a product called Watco that you can use to clean your table and it should make it look almost new. It really is a miracle in a bottle. If you are not looking to change the color, I would look up watco and then put a sealer on it after the watco has been absorbed. Good luck. Don't be afraid to try new things. It is only wood. If you mess it up, just sand it down and try again.
  • Dawn lois Dawn lois on Jan 21, 2015
    It looks like walnut to me...and that's one wood I would not paint. I would be very careful about sanding it because it appears to have a beautiful, aged patina that would be hard to replicate.
  • Donna Ring Donna Ring on Jan 21, 2015
    I really appreciate the help! The table is awesome and weighs a ton. I would love to be able to get rid of the round water stains. That is really all that is wrong with it. I also love the color. Has a touch of red without being orange. Dreading trying to match it. The rest of the table is flawless.
    • Gail Salminen Gail Salminen on Jan 21, 2015
      @Donna Ring I redid a cabinet that had a red hue to it. I brought a piece of it into home depot and the professionals there helped me match the colour - turned out great.
  • Donna Ring Donna Ring on Jan 21, 2015
    It is about 15 years old. I am thinking it was waxed the finish has kinda disappeared and the woods seems dry
  • Lucid Designs Lucid Designs on Jan 21, 2015
    I am going to go against what the first poster stated... Do not use a damp rag to get rid of dust on bare wood, for two reasons. First, water raises the grain of the wood. You will see this in the final product, and it's going to bug you until you sand it down and start over from scratch. Second, most good stain and finish products are not water based, they're petroleum based. Water and petroleum do not mix. The logic that water will help the wood absorb the stain is incorrect. Water-dampened wood will repel the stain, and you'll be left with a nasty mess. Of course you can try to use water-based stain, which doesn't work very well and would mean you would have to use a water-based finish, which doesn't stand up well to much of anything. I am a huge fan of Watco products. If you go to my profile, you'll see a link to 'the antique console'... a piece that had similar problems to yours. I didn't sand a thing, didn't stain it... just used Watco Danish Oil (in mahogany... I would use medium oak or lighter for yours) and a ton of elbow grease. This will also help with the dryness of your wood. After enough coats that it will no longer accept the oil and is dry to the touch, use an oil-based clear. If you do want to get rid of the raised areas, more than likely you're going to have to use an orbital sander. Stay with the grain of the wood, and use a tack cloth between passes. That's exactly what tack cloths are made for. Also, use latex gloves, since the oils in your fingerprints will be absorbed by the bare wood, but they won't show until the stain has been applied.
    • See 2 previous
    • Lucid Designs Lucid Designs on Jan 22, 2015
      @Donna Ring I only used Watco. Red mahogany might work, but don't try the regular mahogany. It will be too dark. Medium and dark oak are typically my go-to's for anything somewhat dark. They also have a cherry that you could mix with one of the oaks to get that red tone. The water rings need the most rubbing, but it's seriously just a matter of putting some product on a dry lint-free rag (t-shirt material) and rubbing until it goes away.
  • MBLori MBLori on Jan 21, 2015
    I agree with Lois, looks more like walnut. Matching the stain will probably be impossible. You can sand it with an orbital sander with a very fine grit and then hand sand to make sure there are no scratches. Rub your hands over it to feel for pits and scratches. Pick a stain that matches what you have because it is beautiful. Don't worry about streaking, just rub it off really well. If you let it sit, it gets sticky. Then I love to just hand rub Minwax Paste Finishing Wax. It leaves a beautiful hand done look. You will need 2 soft rags rub it in good and then rub it back off until you get the desired look.
  • Donna Ring Donna Ring on Jan 22, 2015
    I do feel lucky that the table is not dinged or scratched. Just water rings. The grain is beautiful. It just feels like it is dry...I will be hand sanding. I love all the ideas. Got lots of research to do. (i am a research nut!) I am also going to try to get a few more pictures so all of you can maybe help me decide what type wood. Like I said, the table weighs a ton. Not something you just shove around. I'll get some photos of the legs and sides.
  • Donna Ring Donna Ring on Jan 22, 2015
    @Lucid Designs I looked at your table. The front of the drawer is what my table looks like. Dry. Do you know what type finish my table had? I think it is a wax. Also, whatever top finish I use has to be able to take sun. Lots of it. It is by a western facing door with side lights. (we bought a foreclosed home and took out the little window and added the door.) way too dark. Not to mention the hideous wall paper through out the house! What a job.
    • Lucid Designs Lucid Designs on Jan 22, 2015
      @Donna Ring With all the weird white hazing, it's highly possible that there is wax on your table... either in the form of a finish or years of 'pledge' or other wax-based cleaning product being applied. Watco will eat through that to get to the wood and moisturize while providing color to the white rings. I wouldn't recommend using another wax finish if the table is going to be in the sun, nor would I recommend lacquer for daily use. Stick with an oil-based urethane. If this will be a central gathering area with lots of use, I might even use a spar varnish, which is typically used for boats, but I've used on doors and tables quite a few times with great results.
  • Donna Ring Donna Ring on Jan 22, 2015
    When we were trying to get the house livable...we went with a hardwood floor that was on clearance (discontinued) I didn't love the red in it, but the price was right. Now, I love it. It is really warm and is beautiful in the sunlight. Just funny, because I would have never picked it out...
  • Jean Thompson Jean Thompson on Jan 22, 2015
    I agree, this is Walnut... it can be sanded and refinished... Don't paint it...
  • Donna Ring Donna Ring on Jan 22, 2015
    @Jean Thompson I have no plans to paint it! But I do just want to refinish just the top. The rest of the table is flawless. (hard to imagine I know, but my 3 kids always sat at the bar!) Does anyone have any thoughts as to color of the stain. I am totally unfamiliar with stain...just looking for a starting point. I want to thank all of you!! This place is great!
  • Donna Ring Donna Ring on Jan 23, 2015
    Sorry for the quality of the photos...it was early evening and the light wasn't good! More pictures with some of the underneath and chairs. Didn't mean to bombard everyone with pictures, but I just don't want to screw this up! lol..and yes, I painted that rug and yes it was not as easy as everyone made it look! lol But I do like it!
    • Lucid Designs Lucid Designs on Jan 23, 2015
      @Donna Ring I would go the tinted Watco route. That way you don't have to go crazy looking for a perfect color match, and the damaged areas will be blended away while the table gets the moisture it needs.
  • Bonnie Hayward Bonnie Hayward on Jan 23, 2015
    i HAVE TRIED PEANUT BUTTER ON WATER STAINS OR MAYO. OVER NIGHT ON THE-STAINS WORKED FOR ME.
  • Sharon Hemmingsen Sharon Hemmingsen on Jan 23, 2015
    To remove white rings left by wet glasses on wood furniture, mix equal parts vinegar and olive oil and apply it with a soft cloth while moving with the wood grain. Use another clean, soft cloth to shine it up.Read more: http://www.rd.com/slideshows/how-to-remove-water-stains-from-wood/#ixzz3PerjOtv0