DIY: Salvaging a Weather-Beaten Table (Part 1)

I'm having to find things to distract myself from the ridiculously tortuous European/World Travels Vacay Pics constantly appearing on my FB news feed.  It feels like every time I check FB, there are more bragging pics to remind me that the Hubs and I won't be doing any traveling before Residency starts thanks to real life.  He starts his first day at his new job on the 30th, leaving no time for luxurious travels.  My latest project is a DIY I decided on a few weeks ago.

We've had this HIDEOUS table on our back patio for the last few years.  It has been exposed to all the weather and looked beat.  Because it's a solid wood table, I figured it could be salvageable with a little TLC.  Turns out....it takes A LOT of TLC.  Whew! I'm only halfway through this project and am already tired.  The table is a round pedestal table.  The top was beginning to split in places and buckle and was covered in an odd layer of black mysterious stuff.  So, I ventured off to Home Depot to purchase my salvage materials.  Thanks to blogger Censational Girl, I had some instructions!  Go here for details Table DIY.  My shopping list included: Sander, Sander sheets (medium grit), wedge sander (fine grit), wood filler, primer/stain sealer, small foam roller, and roller tray, oh and the face mask to protect the lungs!

I spent several hours sanding down the table, most of it spent on the table top.  Here's after the majority of the sanding (sorry I forgot to take a before pic... you'll never get a true appreciation for how bad this thing was!)

I then used the wood filler to fill the cracks in the wood so that it would look smooth.  I used the foam roller to apply 2 coats of primer/sealer to the top and 1 coat to the pedestal.

Here it is after priming:

I also worked on the two chairs.  Here is one chair (the better of the two) before any work:

And after sanding:

Now I'm just waiting for the primer to set.  I will buy some paint tonight and tackle the painting tomorrow.  I'm thinking that this table might actually look good enough to go back into the house when it's all finished.  The house that we are HOPING (see THIS POST) to move into has 2 dining areas, one is a breakfast nook with a bay window.  I can see this table and 2 chairs looking perfect in that space.  Perfect to enjoy breakfast and coffee...Let's hope it works out!  For color, I'm thinking of doing a dark navy.  

Stay tuned for more pics of the finished product!

BLESSINGS!