Table "Face-Lift"

We needed to protect the table.... this is an oak table that I bought at a garage sale about 17 years ago for $60.00.  I have sanded and finished the top a few times... at first I did it about every year... I would do it with my little guys... everybody would have sandpaper and a homemade sanding block and we would work and work and work. I taught the kids to sand WITH the grain and not across it.  I loved using that table and wanted to keep it nice and it was a great project for the kids and I to do together. :)

 Well, after the first few years, we only refinished it every other year and then less and less. So now, it REALLY needed it.....

You can see the dings and scratches on the surface.

 It was getting pretty rough.... after all, this is our kitchen table and it is used MANY times every day for food preparation, school work science experiments, bread making, canning and for meals like breakfast and lunch and snacks and..... (with a lot of children, and many of them boys, there is a LOT of eating that goes on in our house! :) 

Spots like this were really getting bad - not only had the finish come off, but the repeated washing and liquids being spilled on the table caused it to "weather" and the gray/black color went down a few layers. Some of the black was from raw sweet potatoes that we peeled on here... we didn't realize it would stain the table... it was really time to get this table protected.

 This time, it has mainly been the project of Son #3 and he sanded and sanded. He was eager to do this project on his own....

There was a LOT of work... there was a long scratch that was a bit deep and so the sanding needed to keep going deeper. Also, the weathered spots were deep... lots of elbow grease was used on this.

 No, we didn't have a power sander, so I tried to convince him that this was good exercise for those arm muscles.... he didn't buy that, BUT.... he did do the sanding anyway. :)

Finally, after a lot of work, over several days, he was tired of the project and I helped him and so did another one of our kids. 

 We didn't stain it.... we wanted to just highlight the beautiful grain of the wood, so we just used a sealer. This is just a really old can we had left, so we used that.

We did a thin coat, then a light sanding after it dried, wiped it off good, then another coat.  We did have to switch to another can of finish. We ended up putting a total of about 6 or 7 light coats, I think.

 You can see the difference... the beautiful wood grain just shows up so nicely.

 Here is is....

 It is so much better.... the finish is strong and will protect the table again.

 I am hoping it will last and not need to be done again for several years... since we tend to be so busy, I am sure that's how long it will be before we do it again. :)

What a treat to have it all done and looking beautiful again.

Getting new things and fixing them up is one thing, but maintaining what we have is another..... it is so important, but it is much easier to put off in the day to day busyness. How nice to give well-used items a bit of a face-lift. They look better, but it also preserves the item.

We need to remember to do regular maintenance in our lives also. I find that  it is so easy to become lax in what I am doing and a regular evaluation, helps to identify areas of need.  Maybe I haven't stayed consistent with discipline with my children... or with our schedule.... or when driving.... or any number of things.  Sometimes, we need to evaluate and "re-do" some area of our life.  I have found that my kids do the best when I am consistent, but that is so hard and I slack off a bit here and there.... but I don't want to, so I need to keep checking to be sure that each area of my life honors the Lord. Then I can "shine" for Him and be useful... and beautiful in His eyes.

Thank you for visiting. :)

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