Round Table Top–Back to Square One

Final choice--Rust-oleum

A few years ago I visited a sweet, new friend and mentioned how I loved her round kitchen table. It had an iron base with a wonderful pine top. I could see the indentations made by over-zealous pencils doing homework in the soft wood, but the size and color were wonderful!

A few months later, my friend mentioned they were moving, and she was selling the perfect kitchen table. I could just picture it in my smallish kitchen where it would add soft curves to a square space. Family dinners would be cozier; games would be easier to play. Yes, this round table was my Shangri-La. Of course, I bought the table and brought it home to “fix” the top. A little light sanding, I thought, then stain and seal. A small project, right?

Lesson #1: There are no “small projects”. It is easy to put a little too much elbow grease into something–especially when you discover the top is a thin veneer over MDF (medium density fiberboard). Did you know that just a few minutes of “light sanding” can go right through a couple of millimeters of veneer! Who knew?

It was not my best day.

That began the saga of the painted table. First, it was white, then red (should have kept that one) with a dry-brushed antiquing, then green (but only for a day because it was a horrible green), then yellow, pumpkin, black, and now on its way to a new color.

Just the most recent "Before"

Wow. After listing all of those, I realize I probably should have stripped the top before adding another color (Lesson #2). The table is probably an inch taller than it started, due to paint build-up. This color actually looked good, but because the orange was so strong, it never “felt” right in my red kitchen.

Lesson #3:  I think the best way to paint furniture and get a smooth finish is to spray it. Rust-oleum makes great spray paint; however, I painted this table inside (it weighs a ton, and I’m embarrassed to ask my husband to tote it out to the garage AGAIN) so spray was out of the question. Rust-oleum also makes a pretty good brush-on paint that gives furniture a hard, looks-like-it-came-that-way finish called Painters Touch. (I do not work for Rust-oleum…I just really like their products!)

Listen to me. I have had lots of experience painting furniture. Actually, only this round kitchen table…So, for real EXPERT advice, go to Home Sanctuary (Rachel Anne is a pro). I also found Cindy who really walks a DIYer through the process of painting furniture. Check her site and tutorial out at My Romantic Home –information from someone who probably doesn’t paint things eight times before she’s happy.

One other thing, some will argue that “decent” wood should never be painted. I think that’s fine if it is in someone else’s home. “Decent” is a relative term, and if the table, chair, or bookcase is yours, and you don’t like it, I say try a coat of paint. What’s the worst thing that could happen? Paint build-up isn’t fatal. Just don’t do what I do. Know when to stop.

Here are some shots for my project–all mistakes until the end.

Pumkin colored table with one coat of black paint. I should have stopped here!

black painted top

Second coat of yellow over the black. Yikes.

First coat of Colonial Red over the yellow (yikes) base. Forgot to sand. Think it will stick?

Red, followed by dry brushing some black and white. The white didn't work for me. But that's nothing a little more red can't cover!

So, here’s the final product–without the finish coat of wax. (This looks a WHOLE lot like the way the table looked when I first painted it…Go figure.)

Ta Da! I think I'll stop here.

One last note, light sanding with a fine grit paper between coats makes the finish coat smoother and more likely to stay put. I’m still searching for the paste wax recommended by Cindy at My Romantic Home, but other than that, I’m moving on…So many projects, so little time (and money, of course!)