"Capture Me" Dining Table Makeover
by
Traci Heimer
10 Materials
This table is my most popular pin over on Pinterest, so I thought I'd do a tutorial on the process and hopefully it will inspire others to think outside the box and tap their creativity. It is a solid, heavy, round table with a veneer top that seats four. Here is what it looked like originally.
I painted it with a DIY chalk paint in Benjamin Moore's White Dove (my favorite white paint by the way). I'd say I probably did 3 layers of paint for good coverage. It also came with 4 chairs. So, I painted those in a DIY chalk paint in Valspar's Indigo Cloth ( a light navy blue color).
I added gold detail around the legs by custom mixing a couple metallic gold colors of acrylic paint and applying with a small art brush. Then the entire set was sealed with SC Johnson Paste Wax and buffed to a nice sheen. It sat in my house for almost a year because I could't get anyone to buy it. Ha! So, I decided to add some interest to the table top using Unicorn SPiT Gel Stain & Glaze.
Unicorn SPiT can now be found on-line at Walmart, Amazon, and Jo-Ann Fabrics (soon to be in all their stores). It is also available in select Ace Hardware stores. I purchase through local vendors which can be done by joining the Unicorn SPiT Gel Stain Q & A facebook group. Their service and knowledge is top-notch.
For this I enlisted the help of my 2 younger kids. We squirted on Unicorn SPiT in Blue Thunder and Zia Teal, and sprayed with water to start spreading out the colors. Then I cut a piece of plastic drop cloth to fit the table and we layed the plastic over the top slowly and adjusted to get most of the air bubbles out. As the plastic lays down it sunctions itself to the surface. Plastic drop cloths come in rolls and can be found in any paint department. The thinner plastics work better. I used a paint roller on top of the plastic and our fingers in places to move the colors around until I liked it. Then we pulled the plastic up from the outside towards the middle and ended up with what you see in the picture above. But, I couldn't stop there so I added some gold.
Using a small sea sponge I randomly added the same colors of gold acrylic that I had used on the legs.
I sealed it up with multiple coats of Minwax Fast-Drying Polyurethane (oil based).
Adding the multiple coats of poly gave the entire top a 3D effect. You can also use Famowood Glazecoat (an epoxy) which is equivalent to 70 layers of poly to get an awesome three dimensional look.
Close-up view
Another close-up view
Side view
And a final picture of the top. And low and behold, it finally sold to a gentleman that collected marbles and thought it looked like a giant marble. He was going to display his marble collection on the table.
I hope this inspires you to try something new and different. If you have any questions, please ask below. You can also find me on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook @angelrockstudio. Thanks for reading 
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2 of 54 comments
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Well done!
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I think I will try!!
Frequently asked questions
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Can you do this on an outside patio plastic table? You really inspired me to take a hardly used table and chairs all plastic and paint them as we move into a very modern condo with deck. Thx!
Did you need to prep the table top first or were you able to put the Unicorn spit directly on the paste wax used previously?
can you do this on a wall or will the gel drip? maybe in small segments?