Saving Grandma's Table
I am honored to redo many family pieces for my client's. I love that they reuse instead of getting rid of them, but sometimes the style doesn't go with their other belongings. This brings me to Grandma's table.
Here is the before picture with 3 leaves in the middle. You can see that they don't totally match since the table has been redone in the past.
After close inspection..I saw that there had been some repairs and stain didn't cover the filler. So I had a new plan for the top! Retique It Liquid Wood.
First step was to clean really well. As you can see there was a lot of old polish build up. I used Krud Kutter that I sprayed on and wiped off. You could also use Denatured alcohol and water.
I applied Retique It Light Liquid Wood on the table top with a brush. A thin first coat is all you need. (Shake container well before using)
Here is a picture of the first coat. No need to get fancy. 😁 Let dry. It won't take long.
Apply your second coat of liquid wood. I did this in small sections so it wouldn't dry too fast.
While the second coat of liquid wood was wet..drag the wood graining tool through it leaving the look of real wood grain. If you don't like it..brush over while wet and do it again.
I dragged the tool in different directions (right to left, then left to right) so it would not look exactly the same. Looks more natural in my opinion. Let dry.
After the liquid wood dried throughly I applied Varathane Stain with an old towel I cut up to use as rags. Apply following the wood grain. No need to wipe back. Liquid Wood is made with recycled wood..so it stains beautifully.
As you see..it's not perfect, but a second coat of stain will make it more uniform.
Well...this is a bit embarrassing 😳 I was trying to match my client's chair and Oops...the second coat made it too dark. I fixed it by applying another coat of liquid wood and again, used the wood graining tool.
Let dry again. Last time for liquid wood..I promise 🤣
Again I applied Varathane American Walnut stain with a rag over the new coat of liquid wood. I am actually super excited I messed up! This has such dimension now.
Once the stain dried.. (about an hour) I applied Retique It Polyacrylic sealer. I found using a sponge works well, but you can use a brush. 2 coats seemed to be enough. It you need a really durable sealer for high traffic pieces then try Retique It Tripletique. It's like a water based epoxy.
It came out better than expected!
Also, I forgot to mention that I painted the base and apron of the table with Retique Midnight Black paint.
Here is a picture with the chair I was trying to match. It isn't exact, but it's really close.
I distressed the paint just a bit with a sanding sponge to give back an aged, loved look.
Can you tell this was painted on? I'm so happy she's able to use this table with the next generation. ❤
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This is exactly what I needed for a very old antique table. It has the same different colored middle extensions. Thanks for showing your process so well.
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Gorgeous old table to work with, first. I keep hoping I'll find one like this someday, love the legs!!! This made me decide I Need to try some Re-tique it!!! This is just what I need for a dresser top I'm working on. Love that it's made with Re-Cycled Wood!!! ❤️
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Ok what if you have a bad spot? My granddaughter used finger nail polish on my table. Do I sand it all off first? Thanks you'd looks so wonderful.
I have a similar style table but it looks like the top has laminate. Would the liquid wood work on the laminate to create that same wood and stained look?
The end is a beautiful picture. Just two questions: when did you paint the edge of the table black? Did you also pain the legs?