The ragtag coffee table repair and makeover continues!
Look at that lovely carving detail on the legs, who could resist?
Scroll down for the rest of the repair story, and the final product.
After cleaning, the next step was to glue down the top center insert that was coming loose and a bit warped at one corner. Below you can see the bright white line of glue. I also glued the same piece from the bottom, because why not?
After glue had dried, and my online order for a palm sander arrived, I started sanding the top.
I thought it would take 20 minutes.
It took 2 hours.
The combination of veneer and glue and a bit of water sort of gummed up the sandpaper. Not immediately, but I had to switch pieces and rinse it off a few times.
Oh well, the point of this was to practice and learn. One thing I learned was that it is ok to apply some pressure to the sander so that the sandpaper can do its job.
Here is the top after I decided that I was done with sanding.
You can see that I went through the finish, and down to bare wood in some places. This was mostly along the edges where I knew I would have to sand down the center insert because it had already warped a bit. You can also see the glue. Note to self, next time use less glue so that you don't have to sand down so much of it.
The next day was the start of painting! I decided to use white high gloss paint, mostly because it was free. All the blogs say to apply primer, use a roller, maybe some paint extender.....
Nope. None of that.
I used a brush I found in a box of miscellaneous junk, and the paint was free.
Here is the top after 2 coats. It looks mottled because you can still see the original finish underneath.
After a few more coats on the top, i did one light coat on the center panel of the fake drawer front. To whoever decided that a fake drawer was needed on a coffee table...
Thank you!
You gave me an excuse to buy this lovely drawer pull.
So now the fake drawer has its own little bit of bling in addition to the decorative carvings.
Voila!
The ragtag coffee table!
Now transformed into something that won't give you splinters and should do a decent job of holding magazines, drinks, and probably a plant or two.
(Maybe I'll take another picture on a sunny day, but now, this is it!*)
Cost breakdown:
Table: free
Sander: $20
Sanding paper: $6
Paint & brushes: free
Decorative drawer pull: $14
*Sharp-eyed readers might notice the trellis-print paper covered Ikea table in the back.
It was briefly a coffee table, but now serves honorably as a plant stand.
Happy freestyling!