Whitewashing Your Dining Table
Whitewashing your dining table can be hard or easy, depending on how you use the technique. There are many ways to whitewash furniture, and in this article, you will learn how to whitewash a dining table.
What Does Whitewashing Means?
In layman’s terms, whitewashing creates a washed appearance over the wooden furniture surface. To whitewash furniture, you must create a chalk/water paint mix.
After that, apply the mixture over the tabletop surface. Then, clear away the mixture of mixed paint as you wish.
How To Whitewash A Dining Table?
Here are the steps to whitewash a dining table. Follow the instructions below carefully to achieve the best result on whitewashing.
Strip or Sand Your Table Top
The first step to whitewashing your table is stripping or sanding your tabletop surface.
How To Sand Your Tabletop To Bare Wood?
First, you should not sand a tabletop without using an electric sander. It is recommended to use a random orbit sander. This will help you to finish the job quickly.
To Use an electric sander, start by sanding your table using 120 sandpaper grit. Once you have removed all the old finish, sand it using a 220-grit level of sandpaper. After that, your table is ready to accept refinishing.
You need to scrape to bare wood because you need to scrape off any old paint finish so that the new stain can adhere to the surface properly.
If the old finish is still there, your tabletop surface might risk having bumpy and chips.
How To Strip Your Tabletop?
When you are doing the stripping job on your tabletop, it is recommended to sand the surface lightly using sandpaper.
Then, use a generous amount of varnish and paint stripper over the target area. Make sure the stripper solution is distributed over the surface of the tabletop.
Then wait 30 minutes and use a putty knife or a scrapper to irritate the old varnish. Dump the residue in an old bucket.
Prime The Table’s Legs And Apron
Prime the legs and apron of your table. Before priming, make sure you sand the furniture surface lightly and clean any dust leftover from the surface you are going to paint.
Use a damp rag or mineral spirits to clean the surface before starting the priming job.
What Is The Recommended Primer?
It is recommended to use Rust-Oleum spray primer in flat white. It’s a cheap product and has good quality, and it is also easy to use.
Take the spray can and start priming the surface. You can start using one light primer coat. This will create a few layers, making the surface less likely to chip.
After applying one primer coating, now look for areas that can bleed. Apply a little bit of more primer to those areas.
And finally, prime your entire table piece before you can move to use chalk paint. You can add a tape strip on the table’s edge to prevent the paint overspray from going to your freshly sanded surface.
Stain Your Tabletop
After doing the priming job, now allow the primer to dry on your furniture surface. Make sure to wait until the tabletop completely dries.
Then you can proceed to the staining job. Some people prefer to just use white paint over the current table. Well, it can work, but it won’t stay long or become durable.
To make the tabletop much stronger and more durable, you need to sand off your old topcoat protection.
It is pretty easy to apply a stain. Take a clean rag with lint-free type and dip it in the stain. Then, rub the rag all over your tabletop surface.
What Are The Best Stains For Tabletop Surface?
The recommended stain products for tabletop are Ebony Stain and Early American Stain. Both products have Varathane and Minwax brands.
You can start to apply to Early American first. After that, you can apply Ebony for the second stain.
How To Make A Whitewash Mix For Tabletop
We choose Linen White Paint from Rust-Oleum for this project. You can get this product easily anywhere or order it online.
Here are the methods to create a whitewash mixture:
- First, pour 100ml of water into a clean container
- Then add 100ml amounts of white chalk paint in the same container.
- After that, stir them together for about 30 to 60 seconds. And you get your whitewash mix.
So that is how you make a whitewash mix for your furniture projects. You just need to add an equal amount of water to paint.
Now your whitewash mix is good to go. If you need more mix for some reason, just double up the amount. You can use an old spray can top to measure the solution. This will work perfectly!
How To Apply Whitewash Mix To Your Table?
Use a standard synthetic brush to apply your whitewash mixture. Dip the brush into the whitewash mixture and spread it over your tabletop.
Apply the mixture according to the wood grain’s direction to fill the small cracks. You might also want to do sections if you want to wipe it off.
Sand Or Wipe Until You Get Your Desired Whitewash Appearance
Start sanding using a sanding sponge and 320 levels of sandpaper grit. You can sand or wipe your piece until satisfied with the washed appearance.
If you mess up during the process, just use another wash layer and start from there.
Paint Legs And Apron Of The Table
After making the washed piece looks the way you want, now it’s time to let it dry completely. You can start painting other areas of your table.
Use a synthetic paintbrush with high-quality material and start painting on the table’s legs and apron.
You can apply two white chalk paint coats to achieve your desired coverage.
Apply Wax On Legs And Apron
Before applying wax, you must double-check whether the chalk paint is fully dry. Do not apply wax while the paint is still wet because it will damage the paint job. Apply dark wax and a wax paste finish for appearances.
Using Minwax finishing paste and a wax brush, you can start by applying your wax to the table apron. The apron is the piece under your tabletop that looks like a skirt.
After using the natural wax, it is time to take the other dark finishing wax and brush it all around your table apron. Make sure you also apply on those detailed edges.
Apply Polycrylic Solution To Your Tabletop
This is the last step to do when doing the whitewashing job. You need a protection layer to protect your tabletop.
The recommended product is polyacrylic by Minwax. This coat finish is durable and the best choice for this project.
Here are the instructions to apply polycrylic to your table:
- Start by applying the poly using a synthetic brush. Apply using back and forth motion on your tabletop surface.
- Now, wait for the coat to become dry. Then, use a sanding sponge with 220 levels of grit to sand away the imperfections.
- Apply coats using the same steps. You can apply two, three, or four coats.
- Don’t sand the table’s final coat in order not to make it appear cloudy.
Polycrylic is a clear finish, and it is a great choice when you are whitewashing your piece of furniture. Other finishing products, like normal polyurethane, can turn your whitewashed surface yellow.
Polycrylic, on the other hand, will stay clear and keep the furniture a nice white appearance.
