So I got a table from Ikea and it needs to be...stained? Finished? Sealed?

[bGIveNs33]

Originally posted by: 1EZduzit
I refinished our kitchen table from an older solid oak table back in 1976. I stained it with oak stain and then bought the BEST ureathane marine grade varnish I could get. It had a 20 year guarantee as I recall??

I gave it a coat and let it dry overnight under a couple of heat lamps. I sanded it lightly with 220 grit sandpaper, wiped it off with a tack cloth and varnished it again.

I think I gave it 7 or 8 coats but the finish looked like it was 1/4 inch thick. We still use it as our kitchen table and eat most of our meals off of it. Even after 30 years of use, 3 kids banging on it with silverware, getting wiped down several times a day with a wet rag and usually not dried it still looks pretty good.... though it is getting a little dull. That'd be easy to fix though with one or two more coats of varnish.

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00060.asp

interesting that it held up... marine grade varnish usually doesn't do to well on interior surfaces such as tables, normally it's way to soft.

 

[MillionaireNextDoor]

If, and I'm talking hypothetical, if you want something easy, and if you're Chinese, just buy a thick clear plastic sheet from Walmart to go over it like a tablecloth. $3 Voila!

 

[GRIFFIN1]

Originally posted by: MillionaireNextDoor
If, and I'm talking hypothetical, if you want something easy, and if you're Chinese, just buy a thick clear plastic sheet from Walmart to go over it like a tablecloth. $3 Voila!

winner!

The Minwax Polyshades products (sold at Lowes) are easy to apply. Just buy about 6 cheap foam brushes and some steel wool. If the wood needs to be sanded, then borrow a random orbital sander from someone and work your way up to 320 grit paper starting at 120 grit if the surface is fairly smooth.

The Minwax Polyshades comes in different colors of stains. From my experience, the color of the finished product isn't as dark as the picture on the minwax can might lead you to believe. In other words, if you want a dark stain on the wood, then you will need to buy one of the very dark shades.

 

[nanette1985]

I have a lot of unfinished stuff from Ikea, the really cheap stuff. My basic method is sanding - that's actually the most important part, then getting ALL of the sanding-dust off (tack cloth) and then spraying a bunch of coats of quick-dry poly from Walmart or Home Depot.

For your basic table, pound a nail in the bottom of each leg so that the leg sticks up off the ground, and that way you can spray it all in one go, and not have to waste time doing "top first, wait until dry, then do bottom" type of things.

Looks good, lasts a long time. Obviously, spray the poly outside somewhere so you can be sloppy with it. Good luck.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Squisher

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
My tung oil coat is at least 1/2" thick. It's awesome. :thumbsup:. If I see a scratch, just sand it out.

What brand?

My favorite is Minwax Antique Oil Finish after a first coat of Orange Shellac. But, I usually reserve it for decorative items not ones that are heavy use. The Minwax is mostly just a thicker tung oil which I assume is modified with varnish. Most tung oil I've seen is very thin, and not meant for film building.

The minwax stuff is not 100% tung oil and is not foodsafe. I was gonig to do it with that until I researched.

I get mine from Woodcraft (I LOVE that store). http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=768

 

[Parasitic]

mmm...RTFM?
I thought EVERY piece of Ikea furniture that requires assembly comes with an instruction manual and that stupid allen wrench?

 

[BarneyFife]

You are better off returning it and getting a "real" table. Ikea stuff is crap.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: BarneyFife
You are better off returning it and getting a "real" table. Ikea stuff is crap.

Yeah, take back that solid wood table and get a real table, one made of wood!

Wait...

 

[Jschmuck2]

Originally posted by: Parasitic
mmm...RTFM?
I thought EVERY piece of Ikea furniture that requires assembly comes with an instruction manual and that stupid allen wrench?

You don't...read...well, do you?

 

[ultimatebob]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: BarneyFife
You are better off returning it and getting a "real" table. Ikea stuff is crap.

Yeah, take back that solid wood table and get a real table, one made of wood!

Wait...

I have a hunch that he got the Ingo, Ikea's cheapest table. It's made out of cheap pine that would probably break in half it anyone ever tried to stand or sit on that table by accident.

I've honestly seen Walmart furniture that's higher quality for the same price... although it did make for a fun craft project in my case.