As we are trying to get back into the DIY spirit after vacation I did a quick-ish project two weekends ago staining our "new" end tables.
In preparation for our bedroom re-do I started looking for new end tables the end of last summer at garage sales. I found one for $5 which I posted about here. I never found another one but then my mom gave me a table that someone gave her? Or she got out of the trash? It was not as stylish as the one I already had but after not finding anything else I thought some matching stain might bring the two tables together.
The $5 table was wood veneer that was already stained and the free table was solid unfinished wood. I decided to try a new (to me) product: Poly-Shades by Minwax. It is different than regular stain in that it includes your protective polycrylic finish and you can use it over existing stain. Soo you don't have to sand or strip away the previous finish. Which is great news for me since I hate doing both of those things.
I wanted a dark stain to match our dresser in the bedroom. I didn't go so far as to bring a drawer with me to Lowes but I did bring a picture of the dresser. The stain on the sample wood pieces looked different then the color on the can so that helped with my decision.
The directions say to lightly sand before starting and then to sand with fine steel wool between coats. I did it inside with a window open because I like to watch TV...but it was smelly and would be better done outside.
The Poly-Shades was definitely thicker than regular stain. I had to stir it a lot and it was all goopy at the bottom at first.
The transformation with the stain was amazing. After just one coat the tables already looked so much better.
I thought that the free table may need more coats than the other table due to being lighter. After one coat they did look different but with a second coat on each they were much closer. I thought about doing a third coat only on the free table but Pascal said to leave well enough alone.
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| FIRST COAT |
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| SECOND COAT |
The unfinished free table definitely took the stain better. I think I was probably supposed to sand the pre-stained table more. The stain went on the pre-finished table more like paint instead of soaking in like stain. You can also see in the corners where it is darker because I got too much stain there. With regular stain you would wipe up any access with a rag but with this kind you brushed it on and then went back over right away with a dry brush to get any excess off. It seemed to get stuck in the corners though. Oh well I don't mind and Pascal doesn't care because this table is mine. It was good to try a new product though and I am trying to not just paint ALL THE THINGS.
Instead of re-using the blah wood handle on the free table I bought an antique brass knob for $1.50 to match the existing handle on the $5 table . It really kinda just looks silver but it is good for now.
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| Beautiful! |
Our old tables had two huge drawers that we could fill with very important...junk. Since these only had one I bought some boxes at Target to add more storage.
Pascal's box is cooler...Jealous. Clearance of course.
I am very pleased with how it turned out! Total project makeover cost $12 Poly-Shades + $1.50 knob + $5 table + free table = $18.50. When I tried to find new tables online I couldn't find any I liked for under $50 for one. So I think these were definitely a good deal, plus they are unique.
