Pennsylvania House (Circa 1969) Dining Table Revival, W/TUTORIAL

18 Hours
Medium
I was commissioned by the adorable Angela to revive their dining table. This time, I have included a brief tutorial. It was a pleasure to do, so much so that I didn't want to return it upon completion!
What were seemingly plain "bones" were actually very shapely and interesting. The legs and lines transformed after a little attention was paid.
Angela had a Pinterest board of her dining room bucket list items so I snuck in for a peek before beginning.
The table was in pretty good shape but needed to be reintroduced to the world of entertaining with a makeover.
Stripping, using Circa 1850 Paint and Varnish Remover (twice) removed the majority of the 40 year coat she was donning. The tricks are in the flat, wide scraper; stripping only arms length sections at a time; waiting 5 minutes for it to set and being ok with it looking horrific until the next step.
I then took 100 grit sandpaper and by hand, gave it a once over to tone down all the nasty age spots which had set in. Next, I gently applied a 100 grit mouse sander to her surface to provide uniformity. The balance of the table was sanded by hand with 200, 100 and 0000 grit (s) making it smooth to the touch. See leg below.
On the surface of the table, I applied Ebony stain by Minwax - 2 coats with at least 4 hours between coats. I stroked it on with an old t-shirt and a glove on my right hand to avoid coal miner finger nails. The moment I put it on, I rubbed it off to maintain the grain of the wood as much as possible. On the trim, I used Provencal Stain and a line of whitewash in the crevis as I knew Angela's chair frames were white as well.
The legs were my favourite part. I love the way they turned out. After sanding, I whitewashed them, waited 4 hours or more, stained them in ebony (wiping off quickly), then a little bit of Provencal Stain for dimension and finally dark waxed them. (follow instructions on tin).
The table surface was coated with 4 layers of Polyurethane sanding thoroughly between each coat with a 0000 steel wool. This provides a beautiful sheen in sunlight and a consistent and professional finish under all other light sources.
Here she is. This piece can be utilized in contemporary, traditional, rustic, European and cottage environments.
Tana, Little Red Bag Productions
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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