DIY: finders keepers

Husband and I noticed a wood, double drop-leaf table sitting on the curb on our way to meet some friends for drinks last weekend. Three hours later, the table was still there. As we eyed it, a young doctor walked by in scrubs and exclaimed..."nice table...I'd take it if I wasn't working." It was a sign! In true New Yorker fashion, we snatched it up and carried it to our place (thankfully we were only 2 blocks away...the thing is solid wood and heavy).

We were able to get a better look in the light, and what a sad sad display. It had packing tape stuck to it, as well as black marker haphazardly drawn over the top. However, the drop leaves were still functional and the hinges in good condition.


Inspired by Holly from Life in the Fun Lane, and (trying) to closely follow the tips of Sherry over at Young House Love, I decided to take a stab at giving the table a second life.

Materials:
* Primer (I used Zinsser brand.)
* Paint (I used the cheapest semi-gloss bright white I could find.)
* Brushes (Don't buy the cheap ones...the bristles will come off as you paint.)
* Sandpaper
* Plastic dropcloth (To protect the floor.)
* Newspaper (Also to protect floor.)
* Puppy playpen (Ok you may not need this, but it was the only way to keep a curious puppy from burying his nose in paint.)

Step 1) Generously wipe the piece down with disinfectant wipes, and then again with some sort of all-purpose cleaner (I used Lysol wipes followed by a Method spray cleaner).

Step 2) Apply a coat or two of primer. I tried to make the coats as thin as possible. Zinsser dries fast, so I did one coat, watched How I Met Your Mother on DVR, and then did the second. [You want to make sure that you primer is not too old...ours is over a year old and was on the thick side.]

Step 3) Lightly use the sandpaper over the entire table. This will remove lumps and bumps and better prep the piece for paint.

Step 4) Paint! Again, you want fairly smooth and thin coats, which a good paintbrush will help achieve. I waited at least 6-8 hours between coats 1 and 2, but got impatient and did the final coat when coat 2 was just dry to the touch. If primed well and properly, I think you should only need 1-2 coats of paint. Unfortunately, I needed 3 to achieve a satisfactory opaque look. So it goes.

Step 5) Wait at least 48 hours before using the piece. This part was crucial. We were ready to use it after just 24 hours, but a small experiment with my fingernail told me it would be better to wait another day. Just like a manicure actually takes a day or so to fully dry, so does paint on furniture, apparently.

This was a relatively uncomplicated weekend project, and we were really happy with the result! True, you can see the brushstrokes if you look close enough, and true, the finish is not super smooth. But, it looks far better than its original state, and our total costs for the project came in at less than $10. We're currently using it as a console table next to the front door, and may find a better use should we move to a bigger place in the future!


I got a bit carried away and painted our mesh garbage can as well. I can't say the results are stellar, but after 7 years, I was tired of silver metal to toss my papers into.