It's February and its time to reveal my second 3Rs project. This time it's a straight forward restoration of a trio of coffee tables.  There are two small square tables and a longer rectangular table in this project. They were looking very tired with scratches, burns and watermarks on the finish.

Two of the finished tables have been placed in the living room of the new apartment. The third one has gone into the bedroom as a catchall for my papers and bags. Being a table, I only empty the contents of my pocket onto it. If it was a chair it would probably be draped with clothes.

These tables have been in the family for a long time. I remember them arriving a few days before Deepavali about 30 odd years ago as part of a new lounge set.  Mum tells me that it's made from rubber wood but it has this lovely parquet like effect with different coloured timber. My original plan was to sand back the table and legs, give the table surface a few coats of clear varnish and paint the legs a white colour to contrast with the natural finish.

As I was giving the tables a last dusting before painting, I was admiring the grains and  patterns on the legs and I had second thoughts about painting it. But I had bought the paint (water based latex)  and thought it would be a shame to waste it.  So I started painting one side and knew it was a mistake right away. I didn't even let the paint dry. I cleaned it off with a wet cloth and never looked back. I'm really happy I didn't go through with the paint idea as it would have totally ruined the tables.

A few days later I was reading a DIY blog about choosing pieces for restoring and it said to beware of painted furniture as paint is often used to cover up defects or poor materials.  I'm so glad Iistened to my inner voice and decided to go with a clear gloss finish as there was nothing to cover up on these babies. I hope you enjoy the before and after pictures and that you too listen to your inner voice.

This side table is sanded and ready for varnishing. I really wanted to make this into a games table with a chess board painted in the middle. However, on second thought, the table has a lovely parquetry type design to it and it would be a shame to paint it.

This is what it looked like before I started working on it. It was scratched and burnt in one corner, probably an unwatched candle. It's going to feel brand new once a few coats of varnish goes on.

I really want to try making a painted piece of furniture but I'm so hesitant about covering up a lovely piece of timber. I need to find a piece of furniture that I'm not going to feel bad painting over !

Update 24/01/2016  After some lovely inspiration from the Upcycle and DIY Australia Facebook group I've found a way to have my cake and eat it too.  Have to wait till I finish to see how it turns out.

The one on the left is a special brush for varnish but sheds a lot of hair.

I'm in the midst of restoring an old wooden bed of my mother's and needed paint brushes. I had new brushes at home but they shed worse than my dog and I wasn't game to use them. I needed some wood filler as well, so when I stopped by the hardware store, I asked the woman who was serving me for brushes for varnishing wood.

Sure enough she pulls out the ones that shed like crazy. So I told her what my experience with them had been like. She looked at me a little pityingly. Before she went to show me some other brushes, she told me that I had to pull the bristles to remove any loose hairs before using them. I hadn't done that. So I learnt something new today.

Still not game enough to try it again. I bought a brush with a thinned edge instead. I think it will work nicely with varnish.