Refinishing a Dining Room Table with Polyshades

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When we bought our house, it had oak builder grade cabinets.  They were still in good condition and {more importantly} our budget wasn’t going to allow for new cabinets.  No worries though – I’d done hours and hours of very technical research {ie a cocktail of Pinterest and HGTV} so I was ready to take on refinishing the cabinets!

Refinishing a Dining Room Table with PolyShades - BorrowedBlessings.net

Because I know myself and because I had never refinished cabinets before, I decided it might be a good idea to start with a simpler refinishing project.  Thank goodness I did {and maybe I should have done a few more simple projects}… My first refinishing project was our dining room table.  I found this gem with six chairs on an online sale site for $30… score!  The chairs weren’t in great shape but I knew I was going to refinish the set so I wasn’t too concerned.

Refinishing a Dining Room Table with PolyShades - BorrowedBlessings.net

Basically every blog on the entire internet suggests using a supposedly magical gel stain.  The holy grail of all stains – General Finishes Java gel stain was $30 for a small quart can online and I’m cheap, so… I decided to try a more frugal option.  I found a Minwax gel stain at one of our local home renovation stores and was ready to take on the world {or atleast the table}.  It was about $10 per quart.

First, I removed all 4 legs from the table as well as the drawer.  The bottom part of the table {which was a forest green color when I bought it} was going to be transformed to a pretty country blue.  The table top, which started out stained a pretty standard medium-toned stain, was going to get transformed to a deeper wood color {which I was then going to stain the cabinets}…. Key word here: was.  As in, that’s not what really happened.

The painting process was fairly straightforward.  I’ve added simple step-by-step instructions at the bottom, but here’s the amusing, longer version of how we got there…. we flipped the table upside down to paint the underside of the table first.  I unscrewed each of the legs and removed the drawer from the table.  I found it was easier to paint the legs using a lazy susan {acquired from my mother’s kitchen} to paint all the way around the legs without leaving drips or brush marks.  I’m sure there’s probably a simpler way to do this, but I’m clearly not a pro.  I used the bottom of the table to store all of the paints… this was a bad idea, y’all.  By the time I was finished, the bottom of the table looked like a 3 year old’s impressionist mural.  It’s bad.  But if you come to my house, just take a peek at the bottom of the dining room table – it’s a good laugh and it doesn’t show, so I’m still calling this a win.

Refinishing a Dining Room Table with PolyShades - BorrowedBlessings.net

Anyway, the table.  I cleaned the table with a spray degreaser cleaner from Lowe’s {the brand is I used is Krud Kutter… it’s strong stuff!}, then painted the legs & underside with a few layers of Kilz primer {2 coats I think} then several coats of paint {3?}.  I thought I was smooth enough to paint the table without taping it off first… that was dumb.  After 1 coat of primer, I added the painter’s tape.  Once the paint was completely dry, I added several coats of clear Polycrylic {it comes in a blue quart size jar}.

Once the underside was finished and dry, we flipped the table over so the top was face up.  I cleaned the table a few times with the Krud Kutter degreaser spray… that stuff really gets the gunk off {even gunk you don’t realize is there}.  I used a deglosser liquid to cut down the finish on the table top.  I tried sanding in spots, but I had better luck with the deglosser.  Like I said earlier, I found a Minwax gel stain at a local store and tried it.  I liked the consistency and the product was easy to use.  Once I got done with 2 or 3 coats, I realized this was not at all as dark as I was hoping {it basically looked the same as before I started the process}.  This is approximately the moment when I had a meltdown about the table.  Yes, legitimate… tears involved… meltdown.  My hubby, being the kind man that he is, was like “it’s okay babe, it’ll sand right off”…. And then I had to watch him sand off all my hard work so I could start over.  Needless to say, that wasn’t a happy moment.

So here we are, back at square 1… except farther back than before, because hubby sanded the table down to raw wood {which it needed}.  Before I stained the table again, I applied a wood conditioner.  I’m not sure that the conditioner made a big difference… I probably wouldn’t purchase this product again.

Refinishing a Dining Room Table with PolyShades - BorrowedBlessings.net

The next stain I tried was called Polyshades.  It’s basically tinted Polycrylic… so it’s thick and the consistency of Polycrylic.  I chose this because it was the only stain I could find locally that was as dark as I wanted {and I was still too cheap to pay the $30 for the quart of Java gel stain}.  I used 2-3 coats of Polyshades {Espresso color, satin finish}, then I used 2-3 coats of regular Polycrylic over the top of that.  I wanted to add the Polycrylic over the Polyshades just to make sure the product was really well sealed and avoid nicks/scratches.

Refinishing a Dining Room Table with PolyShades - BorrowedBlessings.net

Refinishing a Dining Room Table with PolyShades - Refinishing

Refinishing a Dining Room Table with PolyShades - Repainting

The PolyShades was okay {I loved the color}, but I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into by using the table as a test subject for the cabinets.  See, tables are flat. Cabinet doors are not.  Thus, I didn’t realize when using the table as a tester that the Polyshades product runs HORRIBLY.  But I’ll save that story for the cabinet post!  Spoiler alert: don’t go out and buy the stain I used in this post. 

Products Used in this Project:
-Krud Kutter {Degreaser}
-Deglosser
-Paint {Leftover from another project}
-Minwax Gel Stain
-Minwax Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner
-PolyShades – Espresso color; Satin finish
-Polycrylic

Refinishing a Dining Room Table with PolyShades - BorrowedBlessings.net

 

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This article has 3 comments

  1. Linda Garcia Reply

    I see that it’s been a while since you posted this; however, I’d like to know if there have been any issues with the tabletop? Such as, stain “peeling” or the topcoat of polycrylic coming off due to not adhering to the stain, since one is oil- & the other is water-based?

    • Borrowed Blessings {Kara}

      Hi Linda! We are still using the table daily. There are a few spots that I’ve dinged up (like when I sat a plywood box on the table – ha!). It still looks great, but definitely isn’t perfect. 🙂 I’d post a photo, but like most people’s dining room tables, it’s currently holding our mail and various other random items!

  2. Mary Price Reply

    Your table looks great. I am considering using polyshades on a dining table top and chalk painting the legs. Could you share how you got the surface so smooth? Did you brush or roll? I did a coffee table with polyshades and had a hard time getting a smooth surface. Thank you for any advice you can give. I want the surface to be smooth and durable.

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