What would you do with this dining table pls?

[SnowGlobes]

We've had this wooden table forever. It's a great size but looks very scruffy now. The leads are fine but much darker. I'm thinking of sanding it down but do I do the legs as well? And then what? Paint, wax, varnish? Are there any particular products I should use? Thanks!

Here are the photos!

Not 'the leads are darker' but 'the legs are darker'

Can't see the photo, but as long as the top is solid, not veneer, I'd sand the top and paint the legs with a chalk paint.

Ah, see photos now. The top looks solid, so my advice is the same.

It's a nice table. I'd sand the top down and varnish it and possible lightly sand the legs then undercoat and paint them in a nice color. You might get people suggesting haul painting the legs but it's not that durable so would likely chip. You might not mind though.

Chalk paint? Sounds interesting. Thank you. I'll try post photos again...

I'd use polyvine wax effect varnish. It's water based, easy to use and gives a lovely finish. It's not for high end fine furniture but perfect for kitchen tables. There are other finishes available

Yes, it's all solid wood. Would you just use normal pain drippy wet or the chalk paint too? Thanks!

Depends on the setting.

I've just painted mine in white (again). It's been black, cream, grey, sanded, even purple in its life.

It's going to go on top of an Ikea black and white rug in my conservatory. My walls are magenta pink; blinds are white, floor is light oak.

Chalk paint is great, but shows greasy marks easily.

I've used 'furniture paint' twice, different brands but both fab effect. One on a coffee table and the other on kitchen door fronts. Both have taken a lot of wear and still look great and and chips repairs are easy, just sand down and re paint ! Loads of lovely colours too.

If you don't want to paint, sand it down and oil with something designed for indoor woodwork maybe :)

I don't want to paint the top as it has a lovely grain (think it's oak) But painting the legs is an idea. Once I've sanded the top do I wax it, oil it or varnish pls. It's our everyday table so constantly in use so needs decent protection. Any recommendations on brands too pls?

I had one like this, i sanded the top down and took off the varnish and then did a light white wash with emulsion and water and wiped it off. It really bought the grain out! I finished it with some furniture wax on top and then painted the legs with white kitchen emulsion (it was all I had in the house)
I had it for another year after that with it looking amazing, I passed it to my niece when I wanted bigger and she has 2 small children under 5 it has stayed looking good for the past 3 years with her

Just lightly sand it, scrub it and wax it. The wood is lovely. Chalk paint is so faddy. It won't wear well, is a faff to clean and will look dated quickly. Sand and paint the legs maybe, but leave the top as wood. It's so pretty.

Thank you all for this. I think I'll sand, scrub and wax the top and sand the legs. If the legs look good I may just wax those too but if not I'll paint them. Is there a certain wax I should use so it doesn't mark pls? We aren't very precious so will put cups on etc.

The polyvine wax effect would give a durable soft sheen to the tabletop and would bring out the grain. A true wax might look a little more attractive but is less durable.

You could also use something like a hard wax oil (e.g. From Osmo) Again it would be super easy to apply and very durable.

If you chalk paint the legs then you can apply the polyvine wax effect over the top of the paint - it's more durable than using wax and you can just slap it on rather that having to buff it for hours. It makes the paint much more hardwearing - although it still isn't as durable than normal household eggshell.

If you use chalk paint it is really easy to apply but gives a bumpy rough texture which I don't particularly like. I tend to sand it down very smooth then use the polyvine wax effect. I love the finish I get but the sanding is messy and tedious....

This coffee table has polyvine wax effect too and chalk paint then polyvine wax effect in the legs. It doesn't look this shiney in real life.

Wow that table looks amazing! Not heard of polyvine wax but like the idea of being able to just slap it on. I'm very lazy. Is the initial sanding hard work? Do you use a little machine to get the original varnish off? I've read somewhere about using varnish remover and scraping - is that a good idea? Instead of sanding or as well as? Again, products recommendations much appreciated.

If you are just taking the top back to wood then you could do it by hand. Just make sure you use the right grit sandpaper. I like to sand between coats of varnish/was using really fine sandpaper to get a silky smooth finish.

Try sanding a little bit and see how it goes. If it is too difficult then you could switch to a chemical stripper but worth a try with sandpaper first. Sometimes the original finish comes off easily and sometimes it doesn't.

I sometimes use an orbital sander and/or a belt sander depending what I am doing. I always finish by hand though - sanding in the direction of the grain.

BTW if you want any more guidance there are a million and one YouTube videos that you can watch.

The polyvine wax effect is water soluble so you can wash the brushes with water and it's not a disaster if you make mistakes

I buy it on Amazon.

Huge huge thanks!

You will have to post a photo of the finished table 😁 "

@DrippyWet
Finally sanded the whole table! Unfortunately left it outside for a few mins and has got a tiny bit wet. Hoping it will dry before I do the polyvine!!

Hi There 😁. What a brilliant update. The table looks amazing. I bet that was hard work.

Im looking forward to photos of the finished table 👀. I hope you like the final finish.

Good luck.