help restoring a dining table

[PumaThunder]

Hi all

I have a tired looking dining table and was planning to restore this by simply sanding it down, filling the crack and re-finishing. I assume it would be best to take it apart as much as possible before doing this? Can anyone identify the type of wood and advise of products to use to give it a good durable finish?

Any recommendations, tips or tricks? I've not done anything like this before.

Thanks.

 

[scholar]

Maybe Acacia Wood?

You could sand the top and then use Osmo Hardwax Oil. You can use the technique shown in this video
But you really don’t have to make it quite as hard work as Matt does.

Cheers

 

[sawtooth-9]

Having done this before, I would sand the table down to bare wood, Blow out any dust in the splits.
Use a LIQUID epoxy to run into the gaps - If they are too small I have used super glue.
Re sand and seal with a thin coat of epoxy. Re sand and then apply a good poly urethane top coat ( at least three coats )
I would not take this table apart - it's not necessary to get a great result.
I did a table 12 feet long cut from a single B2B slab this way about 10 years ago - still looks great

 

[Tris]

To save a lot of dust, pop round to your nearest glazing company and beg some offcuts of 4mm glass. Ideally pieces about 50mm x 100mm so a donation to their biscuit fund may help.
These pieces, scraped across the top at about a 60 degree angle, will remove the finish quickly and it is possible you won't even need to sand

 

[Jacob]

I'd strip varnish with Nitromors and then apply linseed oil.
All the most visible wear is on the top (obviously) so you might get away without touching anything else, perhaps just clean up with soap and water, or white spirit

 

[recipio]

It looks like Iroko or even teak ?. The main split is probably shrinkage due to the breadboard end. I'd leave that alone as cutting into the top will unleash all kinds of stresses. Simply scrape out the split and fill with a matching filler.
Sand down to bare wood with a ROS going up all the grades to 400 grit. After that it's either a hard wax oil or polyurethane. For the latter buy a quality varnish brush - it makes all the difference.

 

[Agent_zed]

To save a lot of dust, pop round to your nearest glazing company and beg some offcuts of 4mm glass. Ideally pieces about 50mm x 100mm so a donation to their biscuit fund may help.
These pieces, scraped across the top at about a 60 degree angle, will remove the finish quickly and it is possible you won't even need to sand

why not a card scraper? it is probably safer than cutting yourself on glass if it were to break.

 

[eribaMotters]

I'm guessing you meant cabinet scraper. I've found glass easier to use, as getting and maintaining a good edge on a scraper, along with avoiding dig-ins is harder for me as I do not use a scraper regularly.

Colin

 

[Tris]

You could use a cabinet scraper, but glass will do a great job, surprisingly difficult to break a small piece, and you can dub the short ends with carborundum paper or a devil stick if you are concerned about nicking your thumbs on it

 

[Skydivermel]

It looks like some sort of wax finish. I'd try a small area with meths and 0000 wire wool. If this works strip the whole top and re wax after filling the crack.