I had to wait a couple of months before gaining the perspective to post this makeover. You see, it was supposed to be a very simple paint job. The table was already painted the color that the client wanted but was showing some wear and tear. She wanted it repainted in the same color and sealed. Easy-peasy, right?
Let me tell you, this piece made me crazy. I could get a beautiful finish on the tabletop with paint, and as soon as I tried to seal it, the finish showed every brush mark, roller mark, or even pattern I used with a paint gun. I stripped it, sanded it and primed it. I tried multiple paint brands and finishes. I even tried stripping, staining and polying with both oil and water based products. NOTHING worked. I damn near made myself crazy because I was determined not to be bested by this table. After 11 attempts (seriously, there were 11) I said “UNCLE”. (By the way, I had the most amazing, patient and understanding client). I finally decided that there had to be some chemical or treatment that absorbed into the wood and reacted with the topcoat. I have LITERALLY refinished DOZENS of tables and have never had this issue.
With the blessing of my client, I built a brand new tabletop with breadboard ends.
I planed the boards to give a rustic, barn wood appearance and stained them gray. Finally, I applied a top coat and did a happy dance when the finish came out beautifully. No seriously. Ask the witnesses. There was a full-blown HAPPY DANCE!
What is the lesson here? Sometimes things just don’t work out the way you planned. Any of the 11 times. But you can still end up with a beautiful, finished piece and a happy client.
