DIY Network

Refinishing an Antique Coffee Table From "Ask DIY Home Improvement" episode DADH-112

DIY woodworking and refinishing expert Bruce Johnson offers advice on refinishing an antique table -- without using stripper.

Q:My coffee table has seen better days. Can you show me how to refinish it?

A: (from DIY woodworking and refinishing expert Bruce Johnson) Coffee tables were introduced in the world of furniture fairly recently -- in the 1950s. Since then, however, they've become a household item. In fact, during the 1960s, people began cutting the legs down on their antique library tables to turn them into coffee tables.

Since they tend to serve informally as both dining tables and footstools, coffee tables tend to get a lot of wear. Here's how to refinish an antique coffee table without having to use traditional paint-and-varnish remover.

Materials:

Furniture refinisher
Polyurethane finish
Extra-fine ("0000" gauge) steel wool
Rags
Chemical-resistant protective gloves
Eye protection

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Safety Alert: Always wear eye protection and protective rubber gloves, and work in a well ventilated area, when working with finishes, solvents and other toxic chemicals.

Traditional methylene chloride paint-removers are thick and contain wax to help slow evaporation, and can be applied to remove paint or polyurethane from wood surfaces. This type of finish remover is typically applied using a brush (figure A)

After a few minutes, the remover begins to dissolve the paint or finish. It can then be scraped off using a putty knife (figure B). Removing paint and varnish in this way can be a tedious and messy process.

Figure A

Figure B

	Figure C
	Figure D
	Figure E
	Figure F

• If the finish on your antique table is worn, hazy or scratched, there are options other than messy paint-and-varnish remover. You may want to try a furniture refinisher -- a blend of solvents containing lacquer thinner, acetone and acetate. This product (figure C) can be used to soften an old lacquer finish without using methylene chloride.

• Apply the furniture refinisher to a small area using extra-fine steel wool (figure D).

• The action of the steel wool in combination with the liquid refinisher should start to "erase" the scratches in the surface and dissolve the old finish.

• Before the refinisher has had a chance to dry, wipe away the dissolved finish using a clean rag or shop towel (figure E).

• Repeat the process on the same area, using a clean rag or steel wool dipped in refinisher, to remove any remaining finish. A soft rag or fine steel-wool will allow you to work the remover into the corners and crevices.

• Depending on how many times you repeat the process, and how vigorously you rub, you can remove only the top layers of the old finish, or you can remove all of the old finish -- all the way down to the bare wood.

• Continue this process to remove the old finish from the entire piece of furniture.

• The refinisher will evaporate quickly. Once the old finish has been removed, and the refinisher has evaporated, you can apply a new protective finish. Rather than using a lacquer finish like those originally used on many antiques, we opted for a more durable polyurethane finish (figure F) for the coffee table.

• Apply a polyurethane finish using a rag rather than a brush.
  
  

RESOURCES :

The Weekend Refinisher:
How to Make the Most of Your Furniture-A Step-by-Step Guide
Author: Bruce E. Johnson
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 034535866X

The Wood Finisher: How to Finish Everything, From Decks to Floors to Doors
Author: Bruce Johnson
ISBN: 0345372972
Ballantine Books