Coffee Table How-To

Per your request, I am going to list the steps and products I used to create my coffee table finish.

1. Scuff sand the surface & wipe clean
2. Prime one coat, let dry for at least a couple of hours, as long as yo can wait, I usually can't wait more than 4 hours (I used Kilz primer)
3. Paint 1-2 coats of Creamy White by Behr in a flat finish
4. Distress using sandpaper, chains, hammers, and nail head holes to simulate worm holes
5. Apply 1-2 coats of Gel Stain (I used Minwax Walnut finish I believe)
6. Distress some more
7. Apply 1-2 coats of Ralph Lauren's Tea Stain Glaze. This step marries all the colors and layers together and keeps everything very cohesive looking
8. Add a little bit of stain to the edges of the raw wood where you distressed to give it a deeper color and more contrast to the coffee-with-cream color
9. Apply 2 coats spray polyurethane in a satin finish. I used a brand from Home Depot, can't remember the name. Spray polyurethane is very easy to apply, convenient, and low-fume.

I know this seems like a lot of steps, but honestly priming and painting are the most laborious. The rest of it is fun, at least to me. All of the products I used were purchased at Home Depot.

Hope this helps and if you use this procedure, please be sure to link back here with your finished product!

p.s. If you are doing say a wall mirror with this treatment, or some other object that won't get regular wear and tear and glasses set on it and chips smashed into it, I think you can eliminate the last step. Polyurethane is just to give it a nice even finish and protect the piece. However, if you are unhappy with the amount of sanding/distressing you've done, this last step makes everything "even" i.e. you will no longer see flat sand marks in the otherwise satin finish. Does that make sense?

-Kari