How to seal wood furniture

**breadstick** · 09-15-2011, 07:25 AM

My wife said she wanted a larger coffee table and I started to look around the house for ideas. We have a 4' x 4' dinner table that we really don't use anymore, so I got the idea to cut the legs off of it to shorten it. I flipped it over to level the legs and I noticed that it has a pretty great wood grain on the bottom. The table was painted with many coats of black paint, so I decided to strip that almost all the way off and leave it sort of "weathered" looking. The top turned out really great, but I feel like I need to seal it or something. I would like to keep it not shiny, glossy, or make it any darker but sealed and protected. Also, I would like it to be relatively quick and easy to apply. Does anyone have any idea how to accomplish this?

**stobes21** · 09-15-2011, 07:41 AM

Originally Posted by breadstick

My wife said she wanted a larger coffee table and I started to look around the house for ideas. We have a 4' x 4' dinner table that we really don't use anymore, so I got the idea to cut the legs off of it to shorten it. I flipped it over to level the legs and I noticed that it has a pretty great wood grain on the bottom. The table was painted with many coats of black paint, so I decided to strip that almost all the way off and leave it sort of "weathered" looking. The top turned out really great, but I feel like I need to seal it or something. I would like to keep it not shiny, glossy, or make it any darker but sealed and protected. Also, I would like it to be relatively quick and easy to apply. Does anyone have any idea how to accomplish this?

For something like a coffee table you're going to want a pretty tough protection layer. Polyurethane would be the obvious choice here. It goes on like paint and provides excellent water resistance. You'll want a satin finish since you don't want it to be shiny. I would suggest at least 3 coats. Between each coat scuff it a bit with some 0000 steel wool and then pick up any dust with a tack cloth. Just remember to put the finish on in a well ventilated area and try to keep the dust low (no fans blowing or vacuuming while it's drying, no pets in the area, etc). You will be able to find everything you need at any hardware store (lowes, home depot, ace, etc.).

A variant of polyurethane that I quite like is a product called arm-r-seal made by general finishes. It's a more specialized product but I think it looks better than polyurethane, which has sort of a plasticy look. You'll find it at stores like woodcraft and rockler, or you can order it online. As a bonus though if you go to woodcraft or rockler the employees really know woodworking and can give you plenty of advice as to any other questions you might have and will even show you exactly how to apply your finish of choice.

**breadstick** · 09-19-2011, 10:02 AM

Thanks for the reply. I found a polyurethane matte at Lowes that worked out amazingly. I did exactly what you said, except I didn't scuff it up between passes because the can said not to. It was EXACTLY what I wanted. I put three coats and let it set in the garage for three days to properly seal and you can't even tell there is anything on it (which is exactly what I wanted).

**stobes21** · 09-19-2011, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by breadstick

Thanks for the reply. I found a polyurethane matte at Lowes that worked out amazingly. I did exactly what you said, except I didn't scuff it up between passes because the can said not to. It was EXACTLY what I wanted. I put three coats and let it set in the garage for three days to properly seal and you can't even tell there is anything on it (which is exactly what I wanted).

Perfect. Can you give us some pics of your finished work?

**breadstick** · 09-20-2011, 04:12 PM

Sorry it took so long. When I bought the table it was painted black so thick I couldn't tell that it had wood grain. I left just a bit of the black to highlight the grain. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I did it all by hand, but this project made me buy an electric sander the next day.

**jumper** · 09-20-2011, 04:32 PM

That's a sweet job. Nice project!

**stobes21** · 09-20-2011, 06:16 PM

Looks great! Thanks for sharing!

**breadstick** · 09-23-2011, 05:51 AM

Thanks, guys. It's funny, but this seems like the right place to mention it. My kids saw what I was doing and asked if I wanted help. I told them they're welcome to, but I'm doing it by hand. They looked at each other for a few minutes and decided against it. I spent (wasted) about 10 minutes trying to explain how manual labor is freeing and how it feels good to actually do things with your hands. They just weren't getting it (11 and 12 years old) so I said thank you and went back to work.

**Mickey Gobes** · 10-08-2012, 11:32 PM

It looks amazing. Must say nice job.

**joseph j** · 10-11-2012, 05:20 AM

I would love to write and say what a great job you did on this, as you have put a lot of work into it.

funique

**whereisandy** · 10-11-2012, 01:28 PM

Nicely done! It came out beautifully. I just stained a new bannister in our house and used a matte clear coat. It has a really nice feel on the hands and I'm glad to know that the wood is protected.