06/12/2017
For me when I first started finishing projects it was tough to learn to right way to do it, and by no means to I have all the answers, but here are helpful steps that I learned that make the finishing easier
Finishing Tables:
Step 1: Sanding
Before you start putting any stain or paint onto the table you’ll want to make sure the tables are sanded enough and to your liking. Run your hand along the table and verify there are no rough areas that will be seen. I sand all the unfinished tables with a 220 grit sand paper but you might want to sand some more.
Step 2: Clean up any dust left over from sanding
If you do decide that you need to sand more, always remember to clean up your sand dust with either a shop vac or a damp (with water) cotton cloth, that doesn’t leave fibers behind on you project
Step 3: Buy the materials you need
Before continuing with the finishing of the project make sure you have all the materials you will need on hand.
For Staining:
• Gloves
• Cotton Cloths - make sure it's something like an old cotton t-shirt that doesn’t leave behind any fibers
• Paint brush - the best kind is a horse hair 2-inch brush
• The stain you will need (For all my projects I use the Rust-Oleum “Kona” stain, that I get at Walmart. You can use this stain for the undercoat of distressing as well as the top coat for the actual table top, however, any stain will work
For Painting:
• The paint you’ll need (I use a satin based “Country White” color on many of my projects, I would recommend least a satin based paint so it can easily be cleaned)
• Primer to put under the first layer of paint
• paint brushes if you are brushing on the paint
For applying polyurethane:
• a synthetic paint brush or something that won’t leave behind fibers
• the poly itself
• 600 grit sandpaper
For distressing:
• 60 grit or lower sand paper
Step 4: Condition the wood
Before you stain any of the boards you’ll want to condition the wood. Conditioning the wood opens up the grain so the stain won’t be blotching when you apply it, and it allows you to see what the grain will look like when you apply the stain. You can either buy wood conditioner from the store, which might be expensive. Or you can just use a damp (with water) cloth. When you do your conditioning just cover the whole piece of wood to make it damp and wait about 20 minutes after it’s completely dry to apply the stain. Conditioning is not necessary if you are just covering up the stain with paint.
Step 5: Stain the wood
You’ll definitely want gloves for this part. The best way I have found to do this is to use a cheap throw - away horsehair paintbrush to get a good amount of stain on the wood then wipe it with the rag covering the entire piece of wood with stain while taking off the excess at the same time. When you wipe you have the option of leaving more stain on the wood to make the stain dark or wipe off a lot to make the stain lighter. Usually, one coat of stain is all you’ll need.
Step 6: Paint the furniture
You can really do this three different ways depending on your time and the space you have.
1. The old paint brush method.
• While doing this just make sure to be careful not leave to many different noticeable brush strokes.
2. Spray paint.
• This is probably the easiest and fastest way to apply paint. Just be careful to not put too much on at once to avoid the paint dripping. You can do this by just putting on very light coats until the piece is fully painted
3. Use a paint sprayer
If you are going to paint I would always recommend putting down a primer coat before starting so the paint will be able to stick to your piece better. Also, I would recommend putting on at least three coats of paint.
Step 7: Applying a polyurethane
You can apply poly on all, some, or none of the table depending on what you want. I would always recommend however to apply it to at least the table top and then to the entire table if you are doing an all stained table. There are all sorts of poly and finishes out there but what I found to be the most effective, fastest drying, and best looking is the “Rust-Oleum” Triple Thick poly from Walmart. This poly dries in an hour and is water based.
To apply the poly follow the below steps:
1. using a synthetic paintbrush evenly coat the entire surface with poly
2. let it sit 1 to 2 hours
3. using a 600 grit sandpaper lightly sand the surface to remove the poly bubbles that can be caused
4. wipe off the project with a dry cloth to remove the sand dust
5. apply another coat of poly (I usually apply 3 coats to table tops and 1 or 2 coats to the bottoms of the tables)
6. once you are done with your last coat, sand it one last time, wipe it with a dry cloth, then dampen the cloth and wipe it again
Step 8: Distressing
If you do wish to distress the piece, all you have to do is stain the piece first, apply the paint you want, then take a very low grit sandpaper and hand sand the piece to your liking.
Step 9: Add the decorative hardware and nails
