Lane Acclaim Tables

I've done it!  All by myself too...,  I've successfully refinished my two Lane Acclaim end tables and extra long coffee table.  

After 2.5 years of sanding, I made a run for it and devoted the last three weeks to sanding like a tweaker (wink wink - Jill).  I've read a ba-gillion blogs and how to-s on refinishing these same exact tables.  These Mid-Century Lane Acclaim tables are known for their two-tone colors, the intricate dovetail detail of the white oak and the lovely grain of the dark walnut.  Beautiful!

If you care to know the technique I used please read on, or just enjoy the pics!  

First a I stripped the tables using Jasco.  Wish I'd watched a few tutorials on this ahead of time.  The legs were a so frustrating to remove the Jasco/stain goo off.  I recommend using a stotch pad soaked in Mineral Spirits on rounded surfaces.  I scraped the flat surfaces with a plastic scraper.  Then I sanded using a hand sander with 150 grit sandpaper most of the time.  I also used a few sanding sponges for the hard to reach grooves.  This didn't work all that well.  They have a little too much give and get chewed up easily, not to mention cost too much.  I needed something with more pressure, but didn't know anything out there existed.  This is what took forever.  I hated the legs and wished I had not stripped them and just focused on the table tops.  Oh well.  After all is said and done I found a sanding block at Lowes the other day and wished I'd known it existed before.  It has a rounded side and angled side to it.  You can attach any grit paper.  Its GENIUS!  I bought it and plan to use it in the future.  Lord help me if I'm ever gonna do this again?!

After multiple trips to Lowes, I selected the Minwax Gel Stain in Cherrywood.  The hub online I found was to leave them either natural or go with a walnut stain.  I knew right away that I didn't love the high contrast of the two woods.  I like the original contrast where the white oak is brought down into the browns a little.  So I tried a walnut stain first, but found it looked a little dirty old brown.  Not at all what I was hoping for.  I wanted something with a hint of red.  So Cherrywood it was. 

Then I chose a Minwax Waterbased (Oil-Modified) Polyurathane in Satin finish.  I used several cheap sponge brushes, suggested by my father-in-law and I recommend it too.  The bristle brushes leave streaks and cost a pretty penny.  The satin finish is perfect, which I also love.  It doesn't have too much of a glare.  I hate glares/sheens on woodgrain.  It distracts away from the grain.  I know I sound like a man, ha!  Wooood  Graaaain!!!  But, I do, I love the wood grain.  Crisp white paired with wood grain... its a lovely combination.

As for this baby:  the coffee table, well, lets just say it has lots of personality.  I knew diving into this project that this table would never be what it once was.

My husband discovered that these lovely black stains in the wood grain were not surface level just hours after we purchased them.  There is also a large water ring on the other end, probably form a house plant.  He abandoned the refinish project, but still brought them home for me.  I guess the furniture designer in him, just couldn't bare to have such a blemished project.  Sadly I had already fallen for the whole set and wasn't willing to part with them.

I saved the coffee table for last.  Actually I should give the table a little more credit.  It did turn out a lot better than I thought it would.  I stained and re-stained the walnut several times till I was somewhat happy with the evenness of the color.  It was a lot blotchier before.  For whatever reason it just didn't stain evenly like the end tables.  Honestly the coffee table is gonna get a lot more blemishes in this house.  I need a coffee table I can put my feet on, if you know what I mean.  And I've got a 4 yr old boy who will most likely be landing airplanes on it and racing matchbox cars across it.  Can't you just see it now?  Its the perfect run way, right?

Onto other news...we found out we need to move this month.  Our landowner recently sold this house to his daughter, but before I get deep into packing.  I'll be back with a quilt to share with you as soon as I finish binding it and photographing it.  

Thats two more things off my NEW list for 2013.  Yeah me!

xo

Lindsay