Coffee Table Restyles and My New Favourite Tool

January 26, 2015

Coffee Table Restyles and My New Favourite Tool

I love my little round wooden coffee table.

I had been searching for one for ages when I found this one at a yard sale 2 years ago and knew it was coming home with me.

This is how it originally looked (back when we still had our black leather lounges). White and chippy. And we used it like this for a while, until I decided it was "restyle time".

November 2012

So I used gel paint remover to get most the paint off the top which was a big pain cause it was messy and smelt toxic. Then I sanded off the rest, mixed up my own dark stain and sealed it with clear varnish. And it stayed this way for a little while (along with my new Ektorp lounge), until ...

August 2013

The dark top was too dark and made the table look small. So I decided to repaint the top white again.

December 2013

But the white was showing all the kids texta marks, so, yep, you guessed it, I changed it again.

This time I sanded all the paint off the top, including the stain beneath. It took about 3 hours over two days with my rotary hand sander and left a lot of ripples in the wood. Not the best look, but after so much sanding I was over it.

So, I gave the top a few coats of white wash to try to hide the grooves and then a few coats of clear varnish. Sorry this is the only picture I could find. (Note I have my set of Ektorps now. :)

November 2014

But those ripples bothered me. A lot.

Then a few weeks ago hubby suggested I purchase a belt sander to level the table and take out all the grooves.

We went to Bunnings and got an Ozito Belt Sander. It is at the cheaper end of the sanders, but for a first timer, I didn't want to spend too much.

Yesterday we unpacked it and gave it a whirl.

Wow!! This is totally my new favourite tool!

Those grooves were gone in less than 20 minutes. A vast improvement on the 3 hours it took me to make them.

I know this sander is going to be an absolute time saver for me and well worth the investment.

So back to my coffee table. After sanding it down with 80 grit, then 120 grit, then 240 grit, it was ready to clear varnish. I had to build up a few coats to get the coverage I wanted but I couldn't be happier with the result.

January 2015

There are a few very minimal grooves but none that jump out enough to bother me.

And I don't plan on changing it again any time soon. Although I do now have a cool sander which could do the job in no time. ;)

But the real reason I am sharing this coffee table restyle with you now is that I have found a new coffee table for our lounge room which I will be sharing with you shortly.

But don't worry, after all we have been through, I am keeping my beloved, many times restyled, round wooden coffee table. It is going into storage until I either move it back or find a home for it in another room. :)