How do I refinish a dining room tabletop?

use tough oil.

For stain you would need to sand down to raw wood. Be careful if it's wood veneer so not to sand thru it. Wipe well with a damp cloth. Apply the stain with a cloth or brush. Let it sit for a few minutes. Wipe off the excess. Let it dry then apply three coats of a water based polyurethane. If you want to paint just lightly sand with 220 grit sandpaper to remove any gloss. Wipe off well. Prime with Kilz primer then paint your color.

Hi Larry! Tung oil? Not sure what tough oil is. Any time you want to use that type of finish, or even any type of oil based stain, you want to start with bare wood. I would strip and sand it, first. Whatever finish you use, read the directions. Many companies also have specific videos on how to apply their products. Good luck, and if I misunderstood your question, don't hesitate to post more information so I could be of better help.🙂

Hi Larry! I've used gel stain on several dining room table tops. No sanding required! Here is a tutorial!

https://letspaintfurniture.com/how-to-easily-redo-a-dinning-room-table/

Hi Larry, scroll through these ideas and see if you find something that inspires you:

https://www.hometalk.com/search/all?filter=kitchen%20table%20refinish

Hi Larry, not sure if you are looking to restain or paint it but I painted mine and have loved it (it has a leaf in it as well so I just wanted it the same. ) http://www.recreateddesigns.com/2017/03/painting-dining-table/

We just didn't this our table and it came out great. Ours didn't have leaf, but we used the same process on the leaf table earlier and it worked the same. You can peek here if you like, since we outlined all the steps. https://www.exquisitelyunremarkable.com/2019/11/how-to-refinish-wooden-kitchen-table.html

You could paint it either with gel stain or milk paint, both from General Finishes. Neither require much sanding. I painted my oak kitchen cabinets with their milk paint, if you’d like to take a look: https://momhomeguide.com/my-painted-kitchen-cabinets-a-year-later/

Here's one idea: https://www.hometalk.com/diy/kitchen-dining/kitchen-dining-furniture/refinishing-a-dining-room-table-with-paint-and-wood-stain-3613072

First, you need to sand the old finish off then reapply finish. Here is an article that explains different finish options: https://do-daddy.com/best-finishes-for-epoxy-river-table/

https://do-daddy.com/best-finishes-for-epoxy-river-table/

Hope this Helps! Jeremy - https://pahjodesigns.com

Chalk paint is also an option: http://www.messestomemories.com/2014/10/diy-distressed-chalk-paint-table.html