Over the years we have sometimes used the Thanksgiving long weekend to tackle various projects around the house. For example, more than once we spent many hours wallpapering rooms during the holiday, often staying up late on consecutive days to get it done.
On Thanksgiving day we had a lightning bolt inspiration to sand and refinish our kitchen table and bench on Black Friday. So we did.
First, some background on the kitchen table, benches, and chairs. We purchased it in the early 1980’s while we lived in Meridian, ID. It is made of solid oak, and includes two extender leaves. Suzanne actually bargained with the factory in Utah during a trip there and we bought it for about $1000, which was a discount of several hundred dollars. And we have gotten great use from it over the years. Every few years we sand and refinish it, just using a Danish oil rather than a glossy varnish finish. On Thursday when we were putting the leaves in to prepare for our dinner guests we really noticed the fading and the various marker writings and stains in various places.
The job was made much easier this time since we made use of a power finishing sander that I bought when we were working on our rental property two years ago. It is such a dream to use proper tools for a job, and this task is a beast to perform when sanding by hand.
After thorough sanding with medium, then fine sandpaper, and carefully wiping away all the dust, Suzanne tackled the staining job.
We’ll let it dry overnight and add a clear coat of oil in the morning, then enjoy our “like new” kitchen table.
Wow, it looks like a million bucks! At least one of those marker scribbles is from Sterling this summer. Sorry.