We were lucky enough to find an old railroad cart table at a local antique store with the original boards still attached to it! It looked pretty rough when we bought it, but we knew we could transform it and make it into something really special for our downstairs game room. We wanted an antique railroad cart table to use as our coffee table down there since we are trying to make it into a vintage game room eventually. So we knew when we saw this table, it was the one for us! I thought I would go ahead and share this easy DIY process with you all in case you find a similar table and want to transform it as well.
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Obviously, the first step would be to get rid of all the dirt and grime covering the table. This one was pretty covered in dirt. It had been sitting outside of the antique store for who knows how long and it was not in perfect condition. But we knew with a little TLC, we could get this table in working order again. My hubby used his air compressor in the garage and blew air all over the table to clean it up real good. Then, we simply wiped it down with a dry cloth afterwards to remove any remaining debris hanging on.
After you have the table all nice and clean, the next step would be to sand it down real good. As I mentioned above, we used an electric sander for this part and it made things go by pretty quickly. I would strongly suggest investing in an electric sander if you like to re-do a lot of furniture pieces like this. It will definitely save you time in the long run!
We did notice with this table that it had several nails sticking up from it. Which in turn, would rip the sandpaper off of the sander. Because of that, we did have to hammer down a few nails before sanding the whole thing down.
After sanding it down, it really brought out the old black paint color. I loved how rustic it made it look. It is the perfect, authentic vintage looking table we were envisioning for in that room.
After we got the table sanded down completely, my hubby used the air compressor again to blow off any remaining pieces left. Once you do that, you are ready to seal it! We had some leftover sealer from when we applied the wooden shiplap onto our kitchen bar wall. I am not sure of the exact name of the one that we used, but I do know it is a semi-gloss finish.
You can use whatever kind of wood sealer that you want for this project. I was really happy with the semi-gloss finish because it gave it just a little shine, but not too much. I just used a cheap foam brush to apply the sealer on the table as well. I did go through about 4 total to finish it up, but thank goodness they are cheap and come in a big pack!
Tips for Applying the Sealer:
Well, that’s it! This was a super easy DIY project and it only took us a couple of hours from start to finish. The end result was so worth it and I am very happy with how it turned out. This railroad cart coffee table is the perfect vintage touch that this space needed! If you are looking for more easy DIY projects like this, then check out how I transformed an old family heirloom that was handed down to me. I love taking old pieces of furniture and making them new again with a little TLC!
It's beautiful!
Awe thanks so much!
I believe this is a factory cart , where the metal on corner is side boards where placed . this then becomes a bin.
where used in ej factory . i'm sure they used them in other factory's .wheels were like that to spin easy . i have one from EJ
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Have a question about this project?
Isn't it 2 low?
That’s how an antique railroad cart is. It works just fine for us.
Where can anybody get one? I think they are great and your coffee table looks awesome,
HAGD!!
Margaret
Thank you so much! Check your local antique stores. That’s where we found this one. Hope you find one!