Walnut Coffee Table Preparation & Finishing
I have a coffee table that I had originally planned to paint because it was an ugly hunter green. However, so much of the paint and primer was scraping off I decided to strip it in order to make sure my paint adhered well. Now that just about all the paint and primer is gone it looks a little to nice to paint. It says walnut on the underside of the table, but I’m not sure if the whole thing is walnut/walnut veneer and I haven’t been able find any other information about the table.
Since I’m no longer painting it this will be my first refinishing project. I have a book on furniture repair and refinishing that i’ve read through, but I still have some questions. Some of the wood is a much lighter color, but it has some heavy graining so I’m wondering what wood species it actually is. On some parts of the outer ring on the top piece it seems like as I sand more the white color seems to fade more towards red/brown. I’m wondering how much I should keep sanding and if I should fill the grain before finishing it. Also because of the heavy grain over a lot of the table I’m having trouble getting all the white primer out. I’ve been sanding, using stripper, steel wool and a small wire type brush, but I’m getting frustrated and wondering if anyone has any recommendations. The facing underneath the top is a veneer that has some chips and is kind of beat up – should I try to repair it or just get some new stuff? I only paid $10 for the table so its okay if I have to get some new stuff.
I’m still trying to decide how to finish it after the prep work is completed. I like darker, richer looking woods and in general I prefer to keep wood in its natural state. However, I’m woried parts of it could look too golden/yellow like a lot of traditional styled oak tables I see, and that won’t really go with the rest of my furniture. I also like the idea of using an oil, but would need to use something on top for a little extra protection as this will be the main table in my living room. What finish would you recommend and are there are particular brands I should look for or avoid?
Thanks!
Replies
There are various options you might follow. Before choosing, however, your "big decision" should probably be based on a couple of things. First, I doubt this is an heirloom piece, so it may be appropriate to replace the idea of "restoration" with "repair". Second, there are practical limitations, absent completely dis-assembling the piece. Re-veneering the shelf, for example, would be difficult without open access to the upper surface of the shelf.
Because of the different species of wood between the center circle of the top and the enclosing "ring", it may be best to retain some contrast in color. How much is really up to you. You might (very carefully) stain the ring, while keeping the center as-is, color-wise. Then, apply an appropriate finish.
I'd suggest a carefull examination of the parts to determine which are solid wood, and which are veneer. You don't want to sand through the thin veneer surfaces.
What is an "appropriate" finish? That largely depends on how you intend to use the table, in my opinion. As a typical coffee table, you can expect beverage containers to be placed on the surface. As such, a good varnish is probably better than a simple oil finish.
You can wipe the various pieces of wood with mineral spirits (slower drying) to see how they would look under oil or clear finish, to determine if selective staining would be necessary in your eyes.
To get paint out of open pores I read somewhere let stripper soak until the bits of paint soften, then brush out with brass bristle brush. You might have to keep brushing in the same direction to keep from moving bits back into cleaned pores.
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