Kitchen Table Makeover
by Cynthia H
6 Materials
$45
5 Days
Advanced
We’ve owned this oak table for well over thirty years. Our youngest wasn’t born yet, when we purchased it, new. Three daughters ate meals, did crafts, homework and painted their fingernails at this old table. Over the years the finish has become worn and stained. It’s really obvious when the large leaf is put in the table - it’s like the table is new only in the middle. So, it was time to try a new approach.
This is the table before I started. I cleaned it and thought a quick sanding would take off the old finish.
A closeup.
I had little luck sanding the finish off, so resorted to stripper.
Look at the stuff scraping off.
After cleaning the stripper residue off, I sanded it until I couldn’t see any old finish. I knew there would still be marks, but, that was okay, as long as it looked good refinished. It took awhile with my palm sander.
After sanding with the apron of the table painted with chalk paint. The finish is excellent on the legs so I decided to keep them this way for now.
Since my kitchen is also oak, I was debating between a gray weathered look, a color or a whitewash. I didn’t want to stain darker, since I already have so much wood in the kitchen. I had been reading about SamaN stains with great reviews for them, so ordered the whitewash stain and the sealer. This is the first application. I used a very light touch and found it was drying much faster than the 10 minutes you are supposed to have to work with it between applying and wiping. I also thought it looked blotchy.
Then I ran into some problems. The stain was drying much faster than the videos and label said. When I tried to work with it, to apply a 2nd coat, it was lifting.
I tried a sponge (which is recommended), a soft cloth, and a brush and a foam roller. I also tried applying against the grain, and then wiping off excess with the grain as recommended, but found that no matter which applicator I used, there were brush marks, etc. in spite of everything said in the research I had done. It occurred to me that maybe the whitewash finish, which seems like a thick watered down paint to me, might apply differently that the regular wood stains which is what I saw demonstrated. So I followed the grain, making long strokes to prevent marks. It looked better, although it still seemed to dry much quicker than the instructions said it would. The temperature was 70 degrees and no excessive humidity in my kitchen.
The next morning, I sanded off the excess. Remember, this is supposed to be a stain, not a paint. At this point I was ready to admit defeat. Then I realized one of the areas not taking the stain evenly had been an actual stain that looked like a water mark, which hadn’t shown up when I worked on it to strip it down. It was as if the stain was bringing it out. So that had to be sealed, when I realized it couldn’t be sanded out or removed any other way. Apparently the dark oak finish had hidden it and it hadn’t revealed itself until the staining process. I even went over some of the pictures I had taken and couldn’t find it.
At this point I was wondering if it was worth all this effort when a regular stain would have been messy, but, easier to do. Or watered down latex paint for an actual whitewash. But, I gave it one more try. First I after sanding, I applied a sealer coat, even though the instructions said it wasn't needed. I waited four hours to sand it lightly and then reapply the stain.
Finally the finish came together the way I expected it too. My husband didn't mind a whitewash as long as he could still see the wood grain, and this time I worked in very small sections to get the effect I wanted. Here it is after 3 coats of sealer with a light sanding between each. I plan to use at least one more coat of sealer after all the trouble I had getting this finish the way I wanted it, so it lasts for awhile. Would I use this product again? Not the whitewash, but, I might try one of their other stains. There is little to no odor. Cleanup is easy. The sealer seems to dry well. Only time will tell if the product will hold up to regular use.
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2 of 28 comments
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Turned out beautifully.
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Thank you! I love how it looks every day. With the extra sealer I put on it is still looking good.
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