I'm not sure if this is where I should put this question, but I am planning to turn my picnic table into a dining room table to go with my cottage / shabby chic decor. My question is this:

How do I refinish the table so that we don't get splinters in our bottoms and so that our dishes lay flat?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

~Lindsay

 

Hmmm..well that I've never done
If I wanted to do that...
I'd say some serious sanding is in order
I'd smooth down the top surfaces, maybe the side edges if they needed it
Then a couple of coats of polyurethane on the top surfaces, maybe all over
Not the glossy sheen, but as flat as I could get (picnic tables aren't shiny )

It might depend on how rough it is now as to whether I'd need a belt sander (heavy duty) or just my orbital sanders

If the boards of the table part are really off I might plane them, but they'd have to be pretty warped

 

i have some reservations about this idea. mainly the thought of how physically awkward it is getting in & out of a picnic table. i suppose it's mostly a pain when you're getting in the center spot. if it only seated 4 and you could be assured you could slide in from the ends, that'd be better, because a guest wearing a skirt & trying to get in the middle spot could be embarrassing. or impossible for older folks (or heavy, out of shape folks!) and speaking of which, remember, with a picnic table, the distance from the seat to the table is not adjustable, and not everyone is comfortable sitting the same distance away from the table. big guys will be too close, small gals or kids too far away.....just throwing out some thoughts here.

if you're short on space (and i think you are, if memory serves) any little bistro table or small, narrow rectangular table & chairs would be cuter and more user friendly. and the chairs can be moved around, even to a different room when more seating is needed. but it's your house! good luck!