Refurbishing a Wooden Coffee Table

DIY with Khoz, Habitat Volunteer!

DIY (Do It Yourself) projects are simple, given the right vision and planning prior to the start of the project! It is best to start out with small projects and work your way up as you become experienced, skilled, and confident at your craft.

Let’s start off with a project that is beginner friendly.

“Refurbishing a wooden coffee table” (coffee table from the Habitat ReStore!!)

Refurbishing a coffee table may seem tough; however, this is a simple project. All in all, this project should take 3 days to complete. 

Before:

After: 

Step 1 Sanding:

The first step would be to take a sander and gently sand down the top layer of the coffee table. You can sand the table down the old fashion way with sanding paper, but this will take a lot of time. I would recommend buying a ¼ inch sander and ¼ inch sanding paper for this project. The sanding time will vary depending on the size and style of the table! The table in the picture above took me roughly 5 hours to completely sand. 

Step 2 Staining:
After sanding, prep the table for staining! Next take a dampened rag and wipe of all the wood dust of the table.  After the wipe down, apply the stain to the table. Some people use a fine paint brush to apply stain; however, I prefer using a rag. Staining is fairly simple and should take 30 minutes to 1 hour to complete depending on the project; be sure to apply the stain in the direction of the wood grain. Make sure to lightly dip the edge of a rag into the stain can and then wipe the rag against the grain of the wood.  If you feel the stain you have applied is not dark enough let the table dry for about 10 minutes and reapply another coat of wood stain. For my DIY coffee table project, I applied two coats of Walnut colored wood stain. Let the stain dry for one full day after finishing the process. 

Step 3 Clear Coat:
For the final step, apply clear coat to the table. Clear coats come in glossy, semi-glossy, or matte options; select the clear coat type based on your preference. I used the matte clear coat on my project; matte is better suited for older/antique furniture. Also, for this step you will need a fine paint brush! 

Apply the clear coat in the direction of the wood grain. You will need to apply three coats in total. After the first coat has been applied, let the coat dry for two hours.  Repeat this step for the second coat. For the third coat wait 24 hours before application.  Before applying the third coat, lightly sand the table.  After applying the third coat, allow the table 48 hours to fully cure before putting into use.

Items needed:

¼ inch sand paper

¼ inch sander

Paint brush

Can of clear coat

Can of stain

Rag/Cloth

Tarp