Dining Table Transformation – Q & A’s

Thanks for leaving me such sweet comments about my dining table re-do!
A few folks asked some questions about it, so I thought I’d answer those here today.

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What type of sander did you use to sand the original finish off?

I used a Ryobi hand sander I bought a couple of years ago from Home Depot…

I think it was around $30.

First I went over the whole surface with some 50 grit sandpaper. Then I went over it with an 80 grit, and finally with a 120 grit pad. I wanted it to be nice and smooth. (The higher the grit, the finer the paper)

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Why did you poly first, then paint?

I used poly first so that when I sanded back the paint, the right color would show through. I didn’t want this color to show through…

I wanted this color to show through because it’s was a closer match to my blinds…

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What is a “sanding block”?

It looks like this…

You can wrap whatever grit sandpaper you want around it. You can find them at any home improvement store.

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How did you sand in the grooves?

I took the sandpaper off my sanding block and folded it up like this…

Worked like a charm!

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What do you mean by “dry brush”?

Dry brushing is when you load a dry paint brush with paint, then remove most of the paint with by blotting the bristles on a paper towel before dragging it lightly across the entire length of the surface you’re working on.

I used our Purdy brush to dry brush our table…

It is the best paint brush ever, and it’s completely changed our painting experience.
(I’m not kidding!)

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What type of paint did you use?

I used water-based paint.

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Good luck fellow white-washers.
May the force be with you!

Layla