How to Repaint An Old Wood Table
How to Repaint Wood Table
I purchased this old end table off social media for $20. I was looking for something for my office that would hold my printer and give me some hidden storage (so the storage with doors is perfect). It is sturdy , but it needed to be repainted to fit my decor. Follow these steps to easily refinish your wood table.
This project took about 5 days to complete, because I kept having to go to the store to buy paint. It’s important to know what color blue you want and if you have a sample, take it to the store. Third trip to the store was a charm and got it pretty close to what I was looking for.
A couple things to decide before hand is what finish you want on your table, satin or glossy. Do you need to replace the fixtures or can they be repainted.
When you are reusing an older piece, make sure the top is secure and not coming apart. If it’s a simple fix, use wood glue to secure the top and allow to dry before painting. Use your judgement on if the table is worth saving.
What you’ll need:
sander with paper to sand (180-220 grit, harsher if needed)
paint
paint to paint the knobs or purchase new knobs
screw driver (to tighten loose screws)
cardboard/paper (big enough to sit under the end table to keep paint off the floor)
cloth to wipe down table
Getting Started Painting
Remove the hardware and sand down the finish of the end table. You will want to rough up the surface so that the varnish is no longer shiny. Wipe down the dust with a towel or cheese cloth.
If you don’t want to see brush strokes, consider using a brush on the intricate areas and then a roller for the big areas to minimize the brush strokes.
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Flip your end table upside down and tighten the screws for the legs if they are loose. Sand down the legs as well.
Wipe down the dust with a towel or cheese cloth.
Take your paint and paint the legs (while it’s upside down). You will see the areas you wouldn’t see otherwise and it will give you better coverage. You may need to put on a couple coats.
Flip over and paint the rest of the table.
I wanted a very dark, almost black blue. As you can see from the picture above, the first 2 colors (on the top and drawer), were not the right color.
I had a picture of the color I wanted and went back to the store and compared it to color swatches and got the right color (on the 3rd try).
Tip: One thing I should have done was sanded down in between coats because of the mistakes for any imperfections.
Allow the table to dry and check for missed areas and if needed touch up or give a second coat.
You will want to ensure your brush strokes go from end to end, to eliminate seeing many brush strokes.
I took the black spray paint and gave the hardware a couple coats (drying in between) of black paint.
Once everything is dry you can install the hardware.
Allow the paint to dry according to the directions on the can before using.
This is a great project if you have an old table that you love and adding a little paint to it, allows you to update it to fit your décor.
Feeling adventurous? Refinish your old farmhouse floors or redo a chair.
