How to Easily Refinish a Table Yourself

This tutorial will teach you How to Easily Refinish a Table Yourself with little to no skill.

One of my favorite things to do is shop at resale stores and garage sales. I love being able to find great items at a fraction of their normal cost, it makes me feel like I (kind of) won the lotto or something. I get all giddy and hurry up to the register or table like they are going to change the price on me if I don't grab it right away.

When we bought our house we drove by a garage sale and I made my husband stop because of these awesome tables in the driveway. It was a matching set of a coffee and side table, the bottom of the tables were already painted a shabby chic worn white which fit the style of my house to perfection. So we bought the set for around $20 (I can't exactly remember) which was a steal to me since they were sturdy and solid wood.

I asked my husband if I could borrow his Dad's hand held electric sander and the next thing I knew he was helping me take our tables outside.

How to Easily Refinish a Table Yourself:

Materials:

Wood Coffee/Side Table
Hand Held Electric Orbital Sander
Wood Stain of Choice
Waterlox Clear Original Satin Finish Varnish
2 Paint Brushes
Cloth Rags

Use your orbital sander with 60 grit sand paper to sand the top and sides of your table (don't apply too much pressure, let the sander do the work) Be sure to follow the grain of the wood and wipe clean with a dry cloth.
Sand a second time but use 100 grit sand paper and wipe clean with a dry cloth.
Give it a final sanding with 220 grit sandpaper and wipe clean with a dry cloth.
Use a paint brush to brush your stain onto the sides/edges of the table first, let set for 5 minutes, and wipe using a clean dry cloth.
Then brush the stain onto the top of the table, let set for 5 minutes, wipe clean using the same cloth, and let dry for 24 hours.
Using a clean paintbrush, brush on your clear varnish, and let dry for 6-8 hours.
Then lightly sand your table again with very fine sandpaper (if you don't do this step your table will be rough) and wipe off the dust with a clean cloth.
Brush on a second coat of clear varnish and let dry another 6-8 hours.
You can choose to do a third coat but my table did not need it.
Let your table sit for 24 hours after the last stain coat before you place anything on top.