Refinishing Table?

Question

My grandfather went to a yard sale today, & brought us back a HUGE freaking table. -_- We have no use for it...besides maybe a craft table SO not only do I want to do something 'artsy' to the top but, it was out in the rain & the wood on top started pealing off, It's just got thin strips of wood on top of some kinda rough wood surface (I forget the name of it), So Im wanting to pull of the wood strips plus the rough splintery surface underneath. Any Ideas on how to do that? I know the wood strips will *hopefully* just peel right off but, Im not sure about the other part. =/

-Any ideas how to do that?

-Any ideas on what the heck to do with the table once the surface is done?

-I want a smooth surface.

-I'm hoping to do something with maybe stencils, colorful... idk. HELP!

=)

Answer 1

What you've got is a table with veneer on it(the thin wood you see) Well the first thing you need to do is to let it dry out.And I mean possibly for about a month depending on how long it was exposed to the elements.Also depending on the length of time outdoors is may be no good at all bc if it got VERY waterlogged in that time there is really no telling what the solid surface is going to do once it finally does dry out.By this I mean it may decide to twist and warp and there's not much you can do to stop it from happening.

Answer 2

Sounds like youve got a table with a wood veneer surface.

Veneer will peel when it has had prolonged exposure to a humid environment... so... even if you had it out in the rain only a few minutes.. you don't know where it was stored or for how long, before you Grandfather bought it.

You've got a couple of options.... try to salvage the peeling veneer (probably should be left to a professional furniture repair tech), or resurface it.  To resurface it, you can either peel the loose veneer, and fill in any voids.... or remove all the veneer.  If you live anywhere near a small cabinet shop, or a vo-tech high school... you might find someone with a wide belt sander.  This would be an ideal machine to sand the surface smooth, and would gaurantee it to be 'level'... you could try using a belt sander on it, but it would be VERY easy to leave dips and divots in the surface.  If I couldnt find a wide belt sander, then I'd just opt for peeling only the loose veneer, and filling the void.

Once the surface is smooth, you can either apply a new veneer, or even a high pressure laminate.  There is a large selection of both available to the public.

I prefer to use contact cement for either veneer, or laminate, but you can also use cold press glues, wood glue for the veneer, or in a commercial setting, urethane based glues.  Tools are easy to find for either type of surface material.... rollers, trimmers, files, etc....

It is important to remember the prepped surface must be absolutely flat... any irregularities will 'telegraph' right thru the new surface material.

Laminate would probably be the best for someone who is doing this type of project for the first time...tho veneers are preferred by most woodworkers, hehehe.  If you want to actually paint on the surface, then I'd suggest a smooth grained veneer.

Another option would be to apply ceramic tile to the surface... this approach would be slightly more forgiving of an uneven surface.  You could use designer tiles, mosaic, or even stencil a few after applying them.  If you have a nearby 'big box' building supply store... they usually have a 'project seminar' on how to lay ceramic tile.... the approach is the same, whether it would be on a floor, or table top.

So youve got to make some decisions.... what do you want the finished table to look like?  And how much effort and expense do you want to put into it?

Have Fun

(Feel free to email me if you want to go more into depth on this)

Answer 3

hi ralph here in england, seems to me the best way to dry it out is to have a great big BONFIRE, good luck ralph