DIY: End Table Makeover

Ol' Eagle Eyes (moi) over here found this table on the street over a year ago (note:  I have since stopped this habit after living through the ongoing Brooklyn bed bug epidemic).  At the time I was living in a teensy apartment with zero room for my hobbies, but luckily my very understanding & supportive boyfriend didn't say a peep as I attempted to strip all the gunk, glue & varnish in our kitchen...and leave it there for 9 months.

Since I was working in our small living space, I chose a biodegradable, non-toxic paint stripper.  Unfortunately, it just didn't work and left me frustrated and owner of a mess of a table.  I held on to that puppy though and when we moved upstate I couldn't wait to get my hands on some chemicals. 

The stripper I chose worked instantly (the directions called for paint thinner after the paint was stripped.  For that I went with an earth-friendly, biodegradable product). From there I used steel wool and sand paper to smooth it all out.

Then came the fun part - staining and painting!

For the stain I chose Minwax Polyshades in Antique Walnut.  The table top was kind of mangled so I decided to spray paint it black. 

The result? One classy ass piece of furniture.

Supplies

• Paint stripper -$10-$20
• One-step stain and polyurethane - $13
• Spray paint - $4
• Paint tape - $4
• Stripping gloves - $3.50
• Grade #1 steel wool - $3
• Sand paper - $4
• Scraper - $4
• Paint brush - $4
• Paper towels, cardboard