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Recently, I have been on the hunt for a coffee table, searching for something that would stretch the length of our couch but wouldn’t take up a ton of floor space.
During one of my many thrift store trips, I found the perfect little table to use! It was actually an outdoor bench, but it was exactly what I was picturing for our home. At the low cost of $12, I could easily invest in this table and the cost to re-do it while staying way under my budget. Bonus: I happened to spot a Pottery Barn name plate under some of the paint, so I was definitely excited to find a good quality piece!
My plan for this bench was to strip the black paint off and then lighten it up if needed. I worked on this project the same time I stripped my large dining table. I used the exact same products, so you can read more about my experience with that one here.
WHAT I USED FOR THIS PROJECT
CITRISTRIP | MINERAL SPIRITS | PLASTIC PUTTY KNIFE | STEEL WOOL | PAINTBRUSHES | FOAM BRUSH | DROP CLOTH | GLOVES | MASK | SAND PAPER | TACK CLOTH | WHITE CLOTHS
HOW I DID IT
First thing, as always, is to lay out your drop cloth, take your furniture apart (if you can) and give it a good wipe down.
I sanded an area down to see how many layers of paint may have been hidden underneath. Luckily, it looked like it was just the black paint on top of the original wood, but it was taking a while to sand it off so I was definitely going to continue with the stripping process.
Using Citristrip, I slathered the gel on thick with a paintbrush and let it sit for about 20-30 minutes. This product will work for up to 24 hours as long as it remains wet and does not dry out.
Taking a plastic putty knife, I scraped the gel off into a cup for easy clean up. There were still a lot of spots that were black, like the paint had soaked into the wood. So, I reapplied the Citristrip for a second time and then used mineral spirits and steel wool to wash the surface when I was done.
Afterwards, I was left with a bench that had a lot of color variation, as you can see above. I actually liked how it looked, however, the legs and sides were a darker red tone compared to the top. To help match everything up, I figured I would go through with staining the entire piece.
I briefly sanded, then was ready to start applying the wood conditioner. Taking a foam brush and clean cloth, I swiped some conditioner on and then wiped it off after about a minute. Once the entire area was done, I sanded again before staining.
The stain I used, Minwax White Wash Pickling, went on thicker than other Minwax stains I have used before. When I initially applied the stain to the legs, only a little bit of the color showed up in the grain. This was fine until I started on the top surface of the bench. The top ended up soaking up all of the color of the stain, leaving me with a white washed top and red toned legs.
To get the color to match on the legs and sides, I took a rag and dipped it in the can of stain. I swiped a thin layer of the white wash on and did not wipe the excess off like you typical would when applying stain.
This worked great! Once the stain dried, it wasn’t super tacky and allowed the entire piece to flow together. Now I was ready to take care of the final step: sealing.
I applied the polycrylic with a foam brush and did three coats, sanding in between each one. After letting it cure for a couple of weeks, I was ready to use my new bench!
I am so happy with how it turned out and I love how versatile this piece is. I have been trying to only bring items into my home that serve a purpose or can be used in multiple ways, so I love that this bench can do that and for such a small price!
PIN IT FOR LATER!
