Finishing a table top.

It’s a real pain when you find that , once you have laboriously taken bits of grotty  old varnish off your dining table, the stain once used on this piece has soaked right down into it and it’s STILL DIRTY ORANGE!

Ok, I could sand off half an inch and see if that does it. No, that will reduce it to silly thickness and compromise it’s ancient construction big time . So I did this .

Even Trevor likes it.

How did I achieve this?

If you don’t want the boring detail, skip the bit below!

First I cleaned it thoroughly with vinegar , this raises the grain very slightly, but is nowhere near as destructive as chemical options. Also, as I will be waxing  this will help get that into the grain really well .

Then, once dry I apply a thin coat of white liming wax with a cloth and rub it in really, really well.

Biceps bonus workout.

Then I take a 1.5 inch brush with good, long bristles and paint on a thicker layer of the liming wax, following each plank of wood along the grain , working it particularly into the knots, dinks, scars and around the old nails hammered in to hold it together a very long time ago.

 

Let it dry for half an hour only, then polish, hard (more workout!)

Then, with the cloth again, go over the top rubbing very  hard where you want to knock the wax back to achieve that old, worn effect. I can’t tell you how to do this, but I always concentrate my rubbing off where the knots, dinks, cracks and nails are . And the edges at each end; Plus anywhere the grain is particularly characterful. 

Polish in broad circular movements, then along the grain. Let it cure overnight. Polish again. Done… and so are my arm muscles!