Dining Room Table

[bc.gold 3,403]

I scored this table and six chairs on a freebie ad, I'm not sure of the age I believe its Black Walnut. I want to refinish and need some advice from our resident craftsman or any others who wish to chime in.

 

 

Edited June 30, 2022 by bc.gold

[tunahead72 2,414]

I can't help you with the refinishing, but I am curious about the table...  Do you have any close-up photos of the legs/base and top?  Is it expandable, with extra leaves?

 

[bc.gold 3,403]

1 hour ago, tunahead72 said:

I can't help you with the refinishing, but I am curious about the table...  Do you have any close-up photos of the legs/base and top?  Is it expandable, with extra leaves?

 

 

Later tomorrow I'll take more pictures of the table and the vanity and stool, there's a makers tag on the bottom of one of the drawers.

 

The lady I got this from is a Hutterite who left the colony 30 years ago, she still teaches at one of the colony's. Not sure why she choose to gift her treasures over selling them.

 

 

[lynnmor 7,307]

2 hours ago, bc.gold said:

 

Not sure why she choose to gift her treasures over selling them.

 

Since much of the goods are owned by the colony, she probably didn't have the right to sell it.  Since some refinishing is needed, she may have declared it no value scrap in order to move it out.

[Heatingman 971]

12 hours ago, bc.gold said:

I scored this table and six chairs on a freebie ad, I'm not sure of the age I believe its Black Walnut. I want to refinish and need some advice from our resident craftsman or any others who wish to chime in.

 

 

From the picture, the finish looks good enough as is.

 

If you absolutely must refinish, then you gotta get 100 percent of the existing finish off, thats easy in the flats, but very time intensive on the details.

 

DIY chemicals dont really work anymore. The safety police forced all the active ingredients (methyl chloride) that used to work out of the retail grade strippers.

 

So now you either have to have stripping professionally done, or buy from whole sailers.

 

or just keep sanding. Or use copious amounts of the far less effective modern strippers. Expect the process to take several weeks to complete, and have lots of rags and trash space available for all the waste. 

 

if it was painted, torches work well to burn the finish and remove that way, but that set is too nice to risk that method.

Personally Id give it a thin coat of furniture wax some elbow grease and enjoy as is.

 

 

 

 

[oliver2-44 9,756]

The only retail paint stripper that I've found to still work "fairly well" is Aircraft Stripper. But as said above stripping is a lot of work with todays products.

 

Do they need any repairs, are all the joints tight, not wobbly, etc.  

 

Maybe a good gentle cleaning, then a wipe down with linseed oil.

 

I've also used Watco Danish Oil in the walnut color on some dark wood pieces like that.  I lightly buffed them with fine steel wool, the gave them one or two coats of the WAtco oil.  Recently my wive came home with an oil rocking chair she wanted to refinish. I taught her how to do the Watco oil and even she could do a good job with it. it came out very nice, and it preserves some of the wear patina. 

 

@formariz might have some good advice to share on this.

[cafoose 3,355]

I had an old wooden vegetable bin that was scratched up by a cat. I just sanded it and went over the whole thing with stain and it turned out great!

[Jeff-C175 7,202]

3 hours ago, Heatingman said:

Personally Id give it a thin coat of furniture wax some elbow grease and enjoy as is.

 

 

You'd be surprised what a thorough cleaning and waxing can do!

 

 

[bc.gold 3,403]

More pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 30, 2022 by bc.gold

[bc.gold 3,403]

Bedroom Vanity, same load.

 

 

 

 

 

[bc.gold 3,403]

Corner display.

 

[formariz 11,987]

Refinishing that set is a serious undertaking. My intent is not to sound discouraging but to make you aware of what you are up against. A total refinishing is not in my opinion the way to go. That requires a certain amount of knowledge about products for it and the compatibility of the different ones to be used. Parts such as the turned chair and table legs are not easy to do. Quite honestly if that job was to be given to a professional the cost would be several times the cost of a comparable new set.

 Set is most likely maple with a dark stain. I am sure that table top is veneered. 
 

 So having said all of that what I would do if I wanted to keep it is the following. Again it is what I would do for myself and I am relatively pickey with these things , but it really depends on one’s taste which can’t be argued with.

 Set has quite a bit of wear. So why not make the most of that?  I made furniture for clients that wanted that look and it is not easy to achieve from scratch.  On areas such as the chairs , table legs and trestle preserve what is there . They are solid wood. Merely clean everything well with mineral spirits using a mild scotch brite pad such as the gray ones. You will already be surprised on the difference. Then oil it with a mixture of half boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits . Wipe it dry afterwards. That will bring everything back to life accentuating the natural patina of the worn parts. After that dries for a few days merely use a wipe on poly over everything. It will seal what you achieved in prior step keeping that fresh look. If not the oiled  worn parts will look lifeless after a while. Two coats will suffice with a light scuffing between coats. Use a white scotch brute pad. 
 

 Now for the hard part. The table top. It is the most visible part and it’s horizontal. If it was solid wood it would be easy but I believe it is veneered. It does not have a matching wear pattern as the other parts. It does have damage from liquid which penetrated finish. Solid wood would have a lot of options which cannot be used here. On that one I would sand the clear coat on it almost off not going through it. 220 stearated sandpaper going with grain using a block. You are going to get more white areas where water damage is and top coat is peeling . The edges of table should be solid and you can sand through color in areas to imitate wear.  Then same as chairs . You may want to darken the white area with a little stain to even out top. The now thin top coat with the sandpaper scratches will absorb the oil mixture. Then the wipe on poly probably three coats . Scuff the last coat to eliminate any gloss and just polish it with cloth. You should get a result similar to photo below,

 

 Another idea is to paint everything but the top. I would then send top to a refinished and just stain and top coat. The top only will be reasonable in cost but not cheap. 
 

[stevasaurus 22,741]

Cas, when you say "poly", what are you talking about??  Poly-urethane..satin, gloss, oil, latex.??

 

Question...I've re-done a few chairs and tables.  I usually steel wool, or lightly sand bad areas (no veneer) match the stain (Min-Wax) and maybe one or two coats of Tung Oil.  This does leave a shine.  I am liking your 1 to 1 mineral spirits and boiled Linseed oil.  Like to know what you think about Tung Oil Cas.??

 

@bc.gold  You've got some interesting pieces there, that vanity for sure.  Those chairs should look great also.  Cas is excellent, with no stripping and a little elbow grease you will get excellent results.    Please post pictures when finished.

[bc.gold 3,403]

Thank you formariz for sharing your knowledge, we've decided to enjoy the table as is. You're 100% correct the top is veneered, from my observations appears to be 3/16" thick.

[formariz 11,987]

3 hours ago, stevasaurus said:

Cas, when you say "poly", what are you talking about??  Poly-urethane..satin, gloss, oil, latex.??

 

Question...I've re-done a few chairs and tables.  I usually steel wool, or lightly sand bad areas (no veneer) match the stain (Min-
Wax) and maybe one or two coats of Tung Oil.  This does leave a shine.  I am liking your 1 to 1 mineral spirits and boiled Linseed oil.  Like to know what you think about Tung Oil Cas.??

Wipe on Polyurethane is a product that can be wiped on with a cloth like an oil. It is a top coat. Unlike oils it leaves a film on surface but very thin. Ideal for furniture that cannot be sprayed. No brush marks . Needs to be scuffed between coats. It dries rather  quick allowing a couple of coats the same day. Watco  makes it but I prefer Minwax’s. It is lighter and dries faster. It comes in Satin and Gloss. 
 I  am not a great fan of latex products for finishing. 
 

Tung oil is an oil with dryers. There are several types. Pure tung oil is expensive and hard to get but the best type It is a good finish but as linseed oil it requires periodic reapplication as maintenance. All oils require maintenance. Unlike linseed oil it will not color most woods. 
 

I like the linseed because it imparts a warm patina to most pieces. Most wood species pop with it. One has to however maintain it or apply a light top coat as the Wipeon Poly. 
  Another favorite of mine which needs no top coat is a mixture of 1/3 boiled linseed oil, 1/3 mineral spirits, and 1/3 Polyurethane. It can be wiped on. Four coats of that with buffing in between  leaves a pleasant warm surface with a satin sheen that just begs to be touched. 

[formariz 11,987]

2 hours ago, bc.gold said:

Thank you formariz for sharing your knowledge, we've decided to enjoy the table as is. You're 100% correct the top is veneered, from my observations appears to be 3/16" thick.

You are welcome. Things like that are usually best left as close to as they are as possible. The wear tells a story that you will add to as you enjoy using it. There is a certain charm and atraction to objects like that , which a shiny perfectly restored one cannot duplicate. 

[ohiofarmer 3,276]

Not advocating the use of stripper or not. One thing i have learned is the conventional method of scraping off the goo once stripper is used is not very efficient. all you need to do is have a good  bit of sawdust and a pair of heavy rubber gloves. Just grab some sawdust with your hands and it takes off the gooey junk and old finish like crazy and lets you see the results quickly. Also, the use of thin painter's plastic slapped over freshly applied paint remover keeps the stuff from evaporating as fast and makes it work harder.

  I have also added jointer shavings or wood curlies from router tables to add a little scrubbing action to the sawdust, so feel free to experiment..I have never seen this in a shop tips blog, but I think I discovered it just as a byproduct of throwing down some sawdust to catch the goo from getting on the floor.. Those little "accidental" discoveries make up the little satisfactions of life.

[bc.gold 3,403]

11 hours ago, formariz said:

You are welcome. Things like that are usually best left as close to as they are as possible. The wear tells a story that you will add to as you enjoy using it. There is a certain charm and atraction to objects like that , which a shiny perfectly restored one cannot duplicate. 

 

Pat's favorite table, over the years used and abused.

 

 

 

[stevasaurus 22,741]

This is what Tung Oil looks like on an old kitchen table I cleaned up.

[formariz 11,987]

21 minutes ago, stevasaurus said:

This is what Tung Oil looks like on an old kitchen table I cleaned up.

That is a pretty exquisite piece. Sapelle veneer . It was a pricey piece when new.

[stevasaurus 22,741]

I was thinking that Cas.  My Father-in-Law had it in there house back in the 60's.  I am not sure if he bought it or got it from one of the relatives.  Here are the legs and the pieces that go on the legs to the bottom of the table.  2 of those pieces were broke and I had to cut 2 new ones...on the right.