We do not have garbage pick up at our acreage so every two weeks or so, on our way in to Costco, we do a slight detour and go to the dump. We have free dumping up to a certain weight limit each year. After we toss our garbage and recycling in the appropriate bins, we drive over to the Shelve and Share to see if there is anything worth picking up. On one of these visits to the dump, we found this table.
It had some dark stain on it and it was made of real wood. The legs had evidence of different colours of bright paint spattered on it making me think someone had used it as a craft table. My husband used his restorer to remove the stain off the middle leaf just to see what was underneath.
Up until now, we have been using this retro red metal table as our dining room table. It was our first table when we got married. We had bought it and four chairs for $75.
Our better table that rolls open to take two leaves is still at our house in Fort Mac. We decided to leave it there as it fills the dining area space best and, when we decide to sell that house, it is the better choice to be there.
Back to the table we acquired at the dump.
It definitely looked like a sort of spruce with lots of wood grain and knots.
Here is a close up before using the restorer.
I wouldn’t call my husband a pyro but every time he sees a nice piece of spruce, he always wants to burn it.
He took the three table top pieces outside and burned them black with his propane torch.
You can see the alligator char starting to form.
He then removes most of that char using a coarse brush attached to his drill.
He brushes off the char with an old plastic broom then wipes it clean.
This leaves the wood grain and knots slightly higher and darker than the rest of the wood.
To finish it off, it gets coated first with Tung Oil then many coats of wipe-on polyurethane.
My job was to use some white trim and door paint to paint the table legs and supports.
We had a full gallon of trim paint left by the previous owners so I didn’t even have to go out and buy any.
This table will temporarily replace our red retro table that we have been using in this space.
The red table will go into the basement for crafting on.
The table matches the flooring now and the white legs match the deck door, thick baseboards and window trim. I only had the two chairs placed at the table as our other chairs do not really match.
Just this week we were lucky to also find some dark brown circular placemats at the Shelve and Share that we can use while eating at the table. We think the burned top would likely scratch easily. We also picked up a single bed frame with headboard and footboard; another trash to treasure find for us.
Overall, this project was almost free. The tools we used we already had as well as the Tung Oil, Wipe-on Poly and paint. It did take some time as both the paint and finishes needed multiple coats with time to dry in between. It was definitely worth the time and energy as I am so pleased with the finished table.
With the red table, I would grudgingly go and sit at it. I always found the metal top and edges very cold to the touch. The red seemed so bold and out of place. Already, I can feel the pull of the new table. The unique burned wood look draws me to it and I WANT to sit at it. I am looking forward to relaxing around it soon to play some board games.
Great work!