Sunshine on My Table

I have been searching Craigslist and thrift stores for a cheap kitchen table that I could re-do myself for over 3 months while the table area in my apartment sits empty. Well, not quite empty. You may remember my kitchen chairs that I got through Craigslist a couple months ago. They have just been hanging out all alone in that area of my apartment. Just waiting for a table they could be pulled up to. Well, I finally found the perfect (and cheap) table I had been searching for a couple of weeks ago and I have since been working on sanding, priming, painting, and sealing it to create the perfect table for my home. 

The process began when I found the table on Craigslist. It originally came with 4 chairs and had an asking price of over $100. Of course, I didn't want the chairs as I already had 6 of them that I got for $45. So, I got the owner to agree to $40 for just the table. Once I got the table into my apartment I put a big tarp under it and put the table up on wooden blocks so I could paint the legs easily without getting paint all over the tarp. I went to Lowe's and got all my supplies...

• paint
• primer
• brushes
• stirrers
• sandpaper
• sanding block
• polyurethane

Once I had everything my mom helped me to start the process. I had to sand and clean off the stain the previous owner had put on the table. He had failed in an attempt to re-stain the table which resulted in a sticky table top with uneven dark stain coloring. I cleaned it several times with Lysol spray and a rag. I then sanded the table with sand paper and a sanding block. This step also helped to get the sticky stain off of the table. Once I was done sanding, I wiped down the table one last time making sure all the reminiscence was gone leaving a clean table to start from.

Next, I took out my primer and primed the table. This was an easy step because you just want a thin coat of the primer and clearly your painting skills are not vital here as you will be painting over this layer. After 1 coat of primer I was ready to add my color paint. Looking back, I should have done 2 coats of the primer since my table was so dark to start. Priming is an easy step and dries quickly easily eliminating extra coats of paint. Lesson learned for next time!

Time to paint! I started the first coat of  paint a few hours after I put my primer on the table. My primer was completely dry and ready to go. For several nights I painted 1 coat on the table per night...I ended up doing 4 coats total. I wanted to make sure my coverage was perfect. After all 4 coats of paint I added 2 coats of polyurethane to seal the table. Since it is a kitchen table I wanted to be sure that if a drink is put down on it or food spills it can be easily cleaned up. I waited about 4 days before I pushed the table back together and considered it complete. I wanted to give the polyurethane plenty of time to dry.

So, after cleaning and sanding, 1 coat of primer, 4 coats of paint, 2 coats of polyurethane, and several days...I finally have a completed kitchen table. I'm so happy with the outcome...especially the color. Who would have thought a yellow kitchen table would look so great and really brighten up my apartment while flowing with the rest of the decor perfectly. It so great to see your vision come to life...after lots of hard work of course!

Here is the table from the beginning, through all 4 coats of paint, 2 coats of polyurethane, and complete with chairs and decor. What do you think? I'm in love.

The table before.

Close up before.

Primer.

Coat 1.

Coat 2.

Coat 3.

Coat 4.

Close up of the table after coat 4.

All complete.