When we moved into our house, my wife went looking for a dining room table. After realizing that most solid wood tables were easily several hundred to a few thousand dollars, we decided to try to find a used table that was more affordable. My wife absolutely killed it and found a fantastic solid wood table for free! The only downside was that the finish was well worn and someone had placed a hot dish directly on top of the table with no protection, leaving a large cloudy mark in the finish of the table. We used the table as is for a while but soon decided that it was time to refinish the table to restore it to its former glory. This was the first DIY project that we completed together and we had a blast! Read on for a list of materials that we used and the real process we followed to get to the final product.

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What You Need

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How We Did It

Step 1: Prepare The Work Area

Before we got to work, we needed to get out table to a space where we could work on it. We moved our table into our garage since we were using oil-based stains and polyurethane as this would allow those to dry without the fumes collecting inside our house. If you don’t have a garage or a space outside of your living space to work, put a drop cloth down underneath your table to protect your floor. You also will want to switch out the oil based stains and polyurethane to water-based versions to reduce the harmful fumes generated in your living space as they dry.

Step 2: Strip and Sand the Table

Once the table was in our work space, we got to work stripping the existing finish to prepare it to accept the new finish. Instead of a typical solvent-based stripping compound that produces tons of noxious fumes, we used Citristrip stripping gel. This product is just as effective as traditional stripping compounds without the same amount of toxic material. We poured the Citristrip directly on the table, then used paint brushes to evenly distribute a thick layer on all of the finished surfaces of the table. We let the stripping gel sit for around 2 hours for the first stripping session.

Once the gel had enough time to work its magic, we set about scraping it off with a plastic scraping knife. We used a plastic knife instead of a metal one to significantly reduce the risk of accidentally nicking the wood surface. After the first round of gel stripping, we continued with additional rounds until all of the existing finish was removed from the table. It took 3 rounds of stripping in total to remove all the previous finish from the table. Once the last of the existing finish was removed, we cleaned the table with mineral spirits to remove any Citristrip remnants and to prepare the table for sanding.

After the stripping was complete, we proceeded to sand the table using a random orbital sander where we could and hand sanding those places where the sander would not reach. It was critical that we took our time with this step and sanded the entire table with each grit of paper successively. We started with 60 grit and worked our way through to 220 grit, making sure that the finer grit sandpaper removed all of the scratches left on the table by the previous grit. Once the sanding was complete, we vacuumed and wiped down the table with mineral spirits to remove all of the dust in preparation for sanding.

Step 3: Stain the Table

Now we could finally get to the fun part, staining the table! We selected a dark walnut oil-based stain as it would fit best with the aesthetic we were looking for in our dining room. The instructions for the stain required a minimum of three coats to be applied with a drying time in between each coat. We applied three coats of stain to all surfaces of the table with large paint brushes. After the first coat, we lightly sanded the surface with 220 grit sandpaper to remove any potential raised grains in the wood to ensure a smooth finished surface after the polyurethane application. We waited 24 hours after staining before proceeding with the polyurethane application.

Step 4: Seal the Table

After waiting for the stain to dry we moved on to the final step of the project, sealing the table. We selected a satin finish oil-based polyurethane for our table as the satin provides a good balance between damage resistance and a more matte finish. If you want to maximize protection of your table, select a high gloss finish as this will best resist scratches and water damage.

The oil-based polyurethane instructions required a minimum of two coats to provide the full amount of protection, with a drying period in between each coat. Since this was a dining room table, we applied three coats of polyurethane to provide extra thickness and additional protection from scratching damage to the table. Make sure if you are using oil-based polyurethane to ensure that your environment and sealant is above the minimum temperature listed on the container, otherwise the material will begin to congeal and will not self-level into a smooth finish surface.

Once the last coat was applied, we let the sealant cure for 24 hours before bringing the table back into the house. We now have a beautiful solid wood dining room table with a finish that will last for decades to come!