How to refinish timber table and chairs?

jess56

Hello!

I have an old dining table and 4 chairs I would like to sand back and apply a new stain.

I would appreciate some guidance on how to go about this, there seems to be some conflicting information about sand paper grit and types of hand sanders.

Thank you :)

JacobZ

Hi @jess56,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It is wonderful to have you with us.

The advice you've found might seem a little conflicting, but that's mainly because there isn't one single correct way to refinish timber furniture. The sandpaper grit you start with and the type of sander you use will depend on how thick and stubborn the existing finish is, the shape of the furniture and how much material you need to remove.

For the large, flat areas of your table, I'd suggest using a random orbital sander. If the existing finish is relatively thick, you could start with 80-grit sandpaper to remove it, then move through 120 and 180-grit. If the existing finish comes off easily, you might be able to start at 120-grit instead. The aim is simply to use a coarse enough grit to efficiently remove the old coating, then progressively use finer grits to remove the scratches left by the previous sandpaper.

The chairs will likely take a bit more time because of their shape. A detail sander can be useful on smaller flat sections and for getting into tighter areas, while you'll likely need to hand-sand around curves, legs, corners and other areas that the sander can't reach.

Once you've removed the existing finish, I'd give everything a final sand with 180 or 240-grit paper, remove all the sanding dust and then apply your chosen interior timber stain. I'd highly recommend testing the stain on an inconspicuous section first, as the final colour can vary considerably depending on the timber.

Once you're happy with the colour, you can protect the timber with a clear furniture varnish or another suitable clear finish. Just make sure the stain and clear coating you select are compatible and follow the manufacturers' drying and recoating instructions.

Have a look at How to restore furniture and How to restore a timber table in a few easy steps. They demonstrate slightly different approaches and should give you a good idea of the overall process.

You might also like to check out some recent furniture projects shared by our members for inspiration. @Wharr shared their upcycled dining table and upholstered chairs, @CosyCottage restored this beautiful hand-carved timber chair, and @HerKitchenGarden documented the process of stripping, sanding, staining and repairing their vintage kitchen hutch. You can also see a different approach in @MsSashaJob timber bedroom suite coastal-style upcycle.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob