I’ve had this table for a mere 4 months and there is already damage to the finish. It’s an IKEA dining table and I think what happened was condensation from my coffee cup combined with the fabric of the cozy it was in adhered to the table and took the finish right off when I took the cup off of the table.
my question is, what type of paint can I use? Should I sand the whole thing down and repaint? Should I just sand the effected area and spot paint? Would Minwax polyacrylic be okay to seal it up?
Replies
Do you have a fireplace?
Angle grinder. 40 grit wheel.
LOL...yes but I’d rather not use it for this little mishap. Thank you though.
You'll knock yourself out trying to get just that spot to match. Sand the top, prime, and paint. The whole top. Skip the rest if you think it's ok. Latex paint isn't great for table tops. Oil is better. Newer modified latex paints like Benjamin Moore's Advance are excellent.
Fine Woodworking ?
@gulfstar would you like to build me something? Lol trying to save my pennies here, in the process of buying a house. Just trying to save this measly table til we get settled.
“[Deleted]”
@john_c2 yeah the rest is fine! I’ve been taking pretty good care of it despite having two kids. So mad about this! IKEA sells the touch up paint/stain so I was just thinking about sanding down the whole top and refinishing but what about a food safe polyacrylic to seal it up.
There's something to be said about leaving knocks, dings and even ring marks on utilitarian furniture. That Icky table isn't a Chippendale heirloom in the making, that knows! :-)
Just think .... you fix it with 4 hours labour (including a bit of forum posting trying to determine how) and the very next day wee Bertie slaps another nasty thing on it and you have to start again. No, no no.
Accept the dings and harrows of outrageous children (or even the adults) and make yourself a proper one in due course.
Lataxe
Table runner?
Anything is food safe once it's dry. Paint is fine by itself.
I have finished two Ikea tables with water based varnish. Eventually moved to New Zealand where Ikea dareth not tread (yet)
Both survived very well, but the deplorable tendency of children to wipe fingers coated with weetabix and bogies (boogers in the US I believe but horrible either way) under the top led to replacing with a glass-topped outdoor table which served us well for many years.
As said before, once set, pretty much any varnish is food safe.
Personally then, from experience:
1. Sand it down lightly. Try not to use coarser than 180 grit and be careful not to linger in a patch - the veneer is thin and all you want to do is sand off the surface finish.
2. Water based GLOSS poly to finish. Gloss looks better on a nice flat surface such as you will have there, and is much easier to wipe clean.
Yes, oil-based poly will give a better finish and is a little more water resistant, but water-based finishes are much harder and resist the sort of things busy families do to them better. Also, they don't yellow so re-finishing a damaged patch does not mean a complete strip-back.
I miss Ikea.
Rob
"I miss Ikea".
*Choke, splutter, wheeze, gasp of amazed horror*
I feel you need at least 397 hours of Fine Woodwork magazine reading, to bring you to your senses! :-)
Lataxe
I went to an Ikea store once. I have no Ikea furniture but what I do with the furniture I make is coat it with a water based poly. That stuff is good. No worries about water stains; haven't tried putting anything really hot on them, but over the years I think it's habit that we always use hot pads. For surfaces with deep grains (like sapele) I've used AquaCoat with decent success.
Good luck with your repair! I hope it holds up while you're able to collect the materials and equipment to make an heirloom those little kids will enjoy 50 years from now. :)
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