Redoing Table Top's, by Kellie

So, you see a table with 'great bones' (as Tricia likes to say), but the top of it isn't quite right.  It has a few scratches, the top is glass and you want wood, etc.  Don't walk by it... redo it!!

Table #1
A friend was getting rid of a coffee table.  I liked the larger size and the height of it.  But, the top had a piece of inset glass, which I didn't like. It was also cracked.  I have kids and crumbs and toy bits get stuck along the edges of the glass and it never looks clean.  Also, her dog had chewed on one of the legs.  The top looked similar to this one.

I will admit we lived with it as it was for several months while I figured out what I wanted it to look like. I believe you should live with a piece for a bit before you decide exactly what you want it to look like.   I finally had to deal with it when my daughter and I spilled some fingernail polish remover on it, which instantly ruined the finish.


The first step was the leg.  The whole table was stained and had a shiny finish.  In order to paint the base the whole thing needed to be sanded so the paint would stick.  It is fairly easy to take a medium grit (80 or 100) sandpaper and cut through the finish.  My husband used several different grits and sanded down the dog chew marks.  That leg may be a bit smaller than the others, but now that it is finished I can't figure out which leg it was. So, don't be afraid to sand away deep marks on legs.

After the sanding, we put the table upside down on saw horses.  I painted the base flat black using Painter Touch. (See the previous blog on the dining table for details)  It took 3 coats, but the finish is tough and durable!

Next was the top.  After much debate I decided to cover the whole top with wood.  If the top had been solid wood I could have used 1/4 inch plywood.  But, this top had nothing to support it.  The whole center was unsupported.  I removed the glass and cut a piece of wood slightly bigger than the existing top.  I did spend a bit of money and buy a very nice 1/2" piece of plywood with a nice wood grain so it could be stained.  The cost was about $45 for the sheet.  I only used part of it on this table.  The rest I saved for my next project below.  Here is a photo of the underside of the finished table.

The reason I cut it a bit larger than the existing top is that the top had a curved edge.  There was no good place to put the new top edge so it blended into the existing edge.

I stained the top using some stain I had from my last project (the dining table).

After 2 coats of stain I applied the Polycrylic (again left over from the dining table).

Because the wood was so thick I could use screws, screwed in from the underside of the table.  Be very careful and measure the length of the screws to make sure they go into the wood, but not all the way through. I could never do this with 1/4" plywood.  But 1/2" is thick enough.   I also applied a layer of wood glue before screwing it down.

I will admit that plywood looks terrible if you try to stain the edge of it.  So I painted the edge black.  It looks great!  I don't worry about anyone scuffing it up, because I can easily do touch-ups.  The products I used are very durable.  The kids can play on it and we can put our feet on it.

Total Cost: $30
Paint and Stain:  Free (paid for from last project I sold)
Wood top:  Aprox $30

Table #2. 
So, now I had some leftover plywood.  The coffee table had turned out great, which gave me courage to tackle my next table.  I found this one next to the dumpster at our apartment.  (We lived in an apartment while we were house hunting and I collected all sorts of great pieces of furniture)

This was a Mexican side table.  The top of it was deeply carved with a piece of glass over it.  I knew I didn't like the color, and the top carving had to go.  So, keeping with the same design as my last project, I painted the bottom black and covered the top with stained plywood.  I was able to match up the edge of the top nicely.

But, in this case I couldn't screw on the top from underneath.  I used very small finish nails to secure the top at all 4 corners.  I also used wood glue.  It turned out beautiful!  It now sits in our kitchen and holds various plants, photos and our fish bowl.

Total Cost: $15
Paint and stain:  Free (already paid for with last project I sold)
Wood top:  Aprox $15

Table #3
This table was a fantastic find on Craigs List.  Someone was giving it away for free.  It is an antique library table with a ruined top.  Again I lived with it for awhile before deciding how I wanted to redo it. (notice the top is well  covered so the damage doesn't show.)

I love antiques, but they have to be a style I like and functional.  I refuse to dust things that are useless.  This project has been tough decision.  I don't like to mess with an antique that will change its value.  I refused to paint it, and tried to strip the stain.  After attempting a couple of different products the finish looked the same as when I started.  I knew that I would need to take it to a professional furniture restorer.  But, that is pretty expensive and I wanted to see what I could do with it. I decided to oil the finish, which took away the dull look to it.  Then I tackled the top.  It is very thin and completely gone in spots.  It also had some burn or stain marks and a deep gouge. I couldn't restore the top.  But I could cover it.

I didn't need the top to be thick because the new top had the support of the old top.  I bought a piece of 1/4" wood grain plywood.  Aprox $11 for a sheet.  I cut out the size I needed for the top and have plenty left over for other projects.

Since the table is a pretty dark color, I did one coat of stain in Minwax English Chestnut and one coat of Provincial.

I used both because the Provincial tones down the red of the Chestnut, but I still get some great color depth.  I then put on 2 coats of Polycrylic Satin. (Again all of this is leftover from my first dining table project)

I used finish nails to just secure the corners.  My goal is to not damage the piece if I decide to have the whole thing refinished by a professional. You can see the small nail head in the left corner of this photo.  I took a black pen and darkened the nail head so it wasn't shiny.

 

Total Cost: $5

Stain and Polycrylic: Free (left over from last project that I sold)

Wood Top: Aprox $5

I hope these projects have shown how easy it is to rework the tops of tables.  I have a few more projects I'm working on so check back to see what is next!!!