At the weekend I finally decided that it was time to tackle the old telephone / console table. I have, for some time, been meaning to throw it out and replace it. My reason for this is that I don’t like pine. Now, before the collective in-take of breath, I mean by this that I don’t like the light colour that a plain pine furniture piece has. It’s the colour of the wood that turns me away, not the wood itself. I fully accept pine is one of the most versatile woods for furniture and that it is abundant and inexpensive (as well a quick growing). However the bare light pine I’m talking about belongs in the sauna – in my humble opinion.

So, it made it to the front door, ready to be loaded into the back of the car and taken away forever. That was until my mum appeared, and, upon seeing the table and realising my intent simply uttered the end of discussion sentence of “What are you doing with your Gran’s OLD table, not throwing it out?”. Ha, asking it as a question that implies I have a choice in the answer! “No mum, of course not, just thought I’d give it a new lease of life”. And that was why by 11am Saturday morning I was in the local DIY shop.

My Purchases:

Sand paper

I went for 3 grades (using a sander power tool and the odd bit by hand):

Some lightly coarse (around P50) paper – this I used to take off the glossy varnish that covered the table and pine, giving that horrible ‘shiny yellow’ look.

Some Medium (P120) – this was to prepare for the finish, to smooth off any rough patches that the coarse treatment left over.

Finally, some Fine (P220) paper – This is for the finish to make it smooth to the touch and splinter free.

Some Wood filling wax

This is quite an old table and has been in the family (and in the way of the family!) for years. Hence it has taken a few knocks, so some basic filling was needed.

Some Staining Wax

I went for the trust Bri-wax for this job. I prefer was over varnish and stain as I like the control you get by building up layers over time and also it seems far more natural looking. It is also good for the wood itself and can give you some great finishes. Due to my dislike of light wood, I opted for a nice dark oak finish.

Some Wire Wool

Use this to apply the wax (go for the fine type, grade 0000)

Safety / Protection

This is a dusty business, so you need to get some goggles and a face mask. If you’re inside I would without doubt recommend getting some dust sheets to cover your carpets and furniture.

Tackling the beast

With my shopping completed, it was work time. I was fortunate that the weather was good so I could get outside and make as many dust clouds as needed. Here’s how it went:

Clean the table

Firstly I just gave it a rub down with a lightly damp cloth to clear out any old dust and to see what we’re really working with.

Sanding

Starting with the coarse, I used a hand sander power tool on the main areas, and normal hand rubbing whenever the power tool head couldn’t fit. This stage is very important to get all the old finish off. If you’re not sure, use a damp cloth over the table again and you will see where any of the old finish remains.

Next was the medium paper and finally down to the fine. Now, this does take time to do it right. It’s not just a five minute job. Your forearms will ache, you will sand the top of your thumb down and you will be covered in dust. If you’re none of these things, you haven’t done it enough! Don’t take short cuts here though as this determines whether your finish will look as you hope, or like a half done job.

Waxing

Once the sanding is done (and lunch consumed), I could start the waxing. Just rub some of your wire wool into the bri-wax tub and then run (with the grain) into the wood. This however can’t really be done in one day, as you need to let the first application soak in. I just applied 1 coat, then another late that evening. By the next day I only needed one more wax application to get the colour I wanted. You can of course apply more, depending on your own taste.

Once the colour was settled upon, I chose the closed matching filler wax and gently warmed it in my hand (to make it malleable) and filled any holes.

And, to be honest I have to say it looks excellent! I’m not the most talented ‘Handyman’ (I’m no James Taylor..), but with time and care even I can achieve some pretty good looking rejuvenated hall furniture. I think it will be the old pine coat stand next! So give it a go. If you’re throwing it out anyway then it’s worth an experiment surely? Then you get the joy of saying “Oh that? I did that, stripped it back to the wood and….”!