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A dining table and chairs makeover using sandpaper, paint, varnish and beeswax.
The project
Our dining table and chairs had seen better days and I was hating the "orange" varnish look, so I bit the bullet and changed it.
Tools and materials
Materials used in the project:
- Monocel Jarrah stain and varnish
- Rust-Oleum Linen White chalk paint
- Duramax chalk paint
- Various grits of sandpaper for ⅓ sheet sander, orbital sander and hand sanding
- 4mm microfibre rollers for both paint and varnish application
- Paint brush for cutting in paint
- Drop cloth
- Glitz Beeswax polish.
Tools used in the project:
- Screwdriver to disassemble chairs and table
- ⅓ sheet sander for table edges (easier than orbital)
- 125mm orbital sander for removing varnish from table top and chair tops.
Steps
Step 1
We've had this table for a number of years and quite a few house moves. It's been neglected for a long time. I wasn't sure how well it would come up with a sand and varnish but had nothing to lose in trying.
Step 2
I didn't want a house full of dust, so I took the table apart and took it downstairs to sand. I started with 40g paper on an orbital sander until I was back to bare Pine, then moved up to 120g to smooth the surface and finally 240g. I found the orbital awkward working on the edge of the table so used a ⅓ sheet sander for that. I only lightly sanded the legs as my plan was to paint them. I also had to fill the many scratches and teeth marks from when our dogs were puppies.
Step 3
As I was working solo, I didn't want to manhandle the finished job, so I reassembled the table upstairs on a drop cloth.
After wiping down the surfaces of dust, I did two coats of chalk paint, sanding lightly between coats and three coats of stain and varnish, also sanding lightly between coats.
The first coat was diluted with turps per instructions on the can.
Step 4
Being happy with how the table turned out, I dug the chairs out of the spare room (not being used as we don't really have a dining area yet). I found these harder to paint because of all the nooks and crannies. I had heard that the spray cans of chalk paint didn't have very good coverage per can, so having plenty of the Rust-Oleum paint left, I did my best to get two coats of paint on the chairs, sanding between coats, then sanded again and spray painted the final coat. Not being a paint expert, I'm not sure this was right or not, but time will tell.
The chairs were surprisingly quick to prep. The orbital sander on the seats made fast work of removing all the varnish. Then I just key sanded the remainder over a few days (shoulder ache prevented me from doing them all in one day). I found the painting a bit finicky but was thankful I didn't have the older style chairs with the more detailed, wood-turned, rounded pieces.
Step 5
Before returning the dining table and chairs to service, I have given the chalk paint a coat of beeswax for protection.
If I were to do this project again, I'm not sure I would opt for the chalk paint again. I think I'd go for a more hard-wearing paint. No regrets though. Sometimes you just have to trial things. I have to say, I'm now in love with my table setting.
More inspiration for your upcycling project
Workshop member Claire (Renowayoflife) completed a dining table makeover on a piece she had hated for years.
Community member NickiM sanded back secondhand furniture and then applied varnish for a dining table and chairs makeover.
For more ideas from the Bunnings Workshop community, check out 3 ways to upcycle a dining table and the Top 10 most popular indoor furniture projects.
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