Dining Table Makeover

I completed my dining table makeover! I’m very happy with the result. I had a very large square dining table that really didn’t go with the new space. I went on the hunt for a used round table that I could use my 6 leather chairs with and that I could makeover. I found a great used round table on Facebook marketplace for $35! It came with a bonus leaf so I have that should I ever need to make the table larger. It was in great shape other than a few surface scratches. It was a honey maple color and I wanted a dark brown to go with the room and chairs so the makeover began. Here are the steps I took and pictures to show the starting point and end result.

The table top was screwed to the base so I separated it into 2 pieces to do the work. I had both pieces on top of protective plastic.
I took wood putty and used my fingers to fill in scratches on the table top. Once it was dry, I lightly sanded the table surface and wiped away the dust with a damp cloth.
I then started the staining on the dry surface. I used my go to dark brown jel stain! This stuff is awesome and I have used it on so many different projects in my home and no sanding is required. I only lightly sanded the top to even out the wood putty.
I used a foam brush for the first 2-3 coats. I would add another coat after a few hours. I then used a small round roller for the final 2 coats so there were no streaks. I let that dry for 2 days before the next steps. I should add that for the base I only used 2 coats and used the brush. There was no need for more coats or to use the roller on the base.
I then re-attached the top to the base.
I wanted to add a unique border to the table. I wanted it to be black and around 2 inches or so. Once the brown jel stain had dried for 2 days I used a large protractor tool that I purchased on Amazon and used a white colored craft pencil that I picked up at Marshalls and drew a line around the table where I wanted my border. My had to replace the rod that came with the drawing tool with a dowel that I picked up at Marshalls and cut to the length that I wanted. It was super easy to do and use.
I then used very thin craft painters’ tape and taped around the table at the line that I just drew.
Next, I took black jel stain and used a foam brush to apply 2 coats to the edge of the table. I did the 2nd coat after the first one was dry to the touch (a few hours).
I removed the tape before the 2nd coat of stain was completely dry as it comes off much cleaner that way. I loved how it was shaping up.
I let that dry for a day.
The last step was polyurethaning it. This process was a bit of trial and error. I ended up using a satin finish poly. I applied about 6 coats! The jel stain has a built in poly so you have to add additional coats of just poly as it won’t adhere completely even initially. You will also want to use a small round roller to apply the poly as you won’t want brush marks. I also waited 1-2 days between the final 2 coats and then about a week before using the table. The base only needed 1 – 2 coats of poly.
I used the table at Christmas and it was perfect! Just what I had imagined.

You do need to add the poly on top of the jel stain to avoid the jel stain from scratching off and to protect the surface especially because a table is used often and needs to take a bit of a beating. Once the poly is dry it is super protected!