refinished side table

I recently had my good friend show me how to refinish furniture. I can't believe I hadn't tried it sooner, it really is so simple and it's amazing how new and fresh you can make a piece look! My mom gave me this set of small tables when I first got married. One of the tables has been damaged by water over the years. The surface was bubbled up. I was going to throw the table away when I decided I might as well try to refinish it. What did I have to lose?

First I sanded the table to make the surface smooth. Since the table was damaged it required a lot of heavy duty sanding to get past the damage. I even had to use some wood putty to fill in a few gaps.


After sanding was finally finished, I used a gray primer on the table. I then spray painted it in Rustoleum's Colonial Red. What a beauty!


Finally I brushed on some stain and sanded over it to get a distressed look. Of course you can skip this step if you just want it painted without the distressing. Then I added a coat of clear finish to protect it. I wish the picture did it justice, but it really looks so much cooler in person. I am so happy with the result and even more thrilled that I didn't throw this table away! It was such a cheap way to turn this damaged table into a brand new one. I have several more things I am now planning on refinishing.