DIY Furniture refinishing using oven cleaner

Hi Friends! So I took on a fun, first time project.

When I first purchased my house, most things I bought were nice but were let’s fill the house up. So nothing was really permanent, hence why I’m changing out all of the replicated art to more vintage or original art pieces. That goes for some furniture pieces too.

So, I wanted, actually needed a much larger dining table and I found this one at a vintage/thrift shop. Although, I didn’t really like the table color and finish, I thought it’d be fun to just refinish it on my own. Now, I’m no stranger to DIY Projects. I’ve done several, so I was up for the challenge.

I did my research and got started. So here are the steps I took to strip and refinish the dining table.

The table at the thrift shop before refinishing it.
I wanted to get rid of the orangey yellow finish.

These are two products that I used to stripe the paint and wood finish.

The legs on the table were painted so I used the citristrip on the legs and that took all of the paint off to the natural wood finish. I used the oven cleaner on the top portion of the table. I let both set on the table for about 20 minutes (in the shade). And then I scrubbed all of the product off with water and a smidge of soap until clear.

I let the table sit in the scorching sunshine- I noticed an immediate lightening of the wood just from thirty minutes in the sunshine. I let it stay in the sun to stay completely out and to lighten more. I was going for that coastal yet rustic driftwood wood tone and it came out exactly like I wanted it to.

I did a light white wash equal parts water and white paint and then rubbed it off. I wanted that very coastal, driftwood tone to stay after I sealed it.

I used this water based top coat to seal my table to protect it from everyday wear. I sit at my table for all of my meals and when my family is here, this will be where we eat of our meals, as well. My 3 year old nephew sits here and does all kinds of craft and eats here too. So I wanted it to be protected.

It’s my first refinishing project, all though not extremely perfect, I have a few touch up spots. I love my dining table. I love the lighter tone and my dining chairs are going to be updated too. I guess we are never done improving and decorating our homes.

What do you think? Would you try this project? I’d love to know your thoughts.

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