Kitchen Table Wood Grain Technique - Creating a Wood Look OVER Chalk Paint

For the longest time I have wanted to paint a dining table for our family. When I stumbled upon this piece I knew it would be the one I would keep. The table came with two leaves that made it a total of 102" in length. It was in overall great condition, but the top did show wear and the seal was worn in several places.

Paint choices for this piece were Valspar's "Foxtrot" creamy white for the legs and sides of the table top and "Stone Statue" taupe/gray for the table top.  The top of the table was not solid wood so I would not be able to sand and restain. I wanted to keep a wood appearance so I decided to try my hand at wood graining.

Foxtrot

Stone Statue

To start, I buffed out the spots on the legs that were peeling.  I first applied paint to these areas. I wanted to get them layered as close to the existing white paint as possible. I allowed the touched up spots to fully dry then applied two coats to the entire legs, the sides of the table top and up under the lip of the table top around the outter edge. To add a distressed look I shabbied up a few of the edges on the legs as well as the sides of the table with a bit of sand paper. With three boys it is impossible to avoid scratches on the legs of almost any furniture in this home. By sanding it up here and there I knew I wouldn't have to stress too much about the paint being scratched over time. The white edge of the table was sealed with a matte polycrylic. I chose not to seal the legs.


After the legs and sides were complete. I moved on to the table top. 2 coats of the taupe/gray paint were applied to the top of the table and both leaves. Each coat was given over night to dry before applying the next layer.

 Next came the fun part! Creating the wood grain effect! For this process I picked up a Minwax Pro Series wiping stain in the color "Dark Roast". I also used a wood graining tool, 2in paint brush, a small flat bristled paint brush and some old rags. The first step was to stain the outer top edge of the table. I wanted to leave this part of the table in the dark roast color. I applied the stain with the flat paint brush in small sections and allowed it to sit for 3 to 5 minutes, then removed the excess product with a cotton rag.

Important tip when working with stain: Never EVER ball up a stain soaked rag and toss it aside when finished with it! Most stains used for wood are created with vegetable oil. This oil can breakdown resulting into the release of heat which can lead to a fire. Always open the rag up and lay it out to fully dry before disposing of it. 

After the edge was complete I begin to create the wood grain on the table top. At this point I had both leaves in place and would wood grain the top as a whole. I worked in sections as wide as the wood graining tool. A thin layer of stain was applied with the 2" paint brush down the entire length of the table. I then went back and slowly pulled the wood graining tool through the stain, gently rocking it back and forth which created the effect. Once finished with the section, I wiped the stain off the wood graining tool and started the next section by applying another row of stain. 

After 3 or 4 rows I would remove the extra stain from the 2" brush and then gently stroke over the first two rows. This removed the hardness of the lines created by the wood grain tool and gave the stain a softer more natural look. I also buffed out the stain on the edges of the table to give it a softer look. I was worried about the seams where the leaves met in the middle of the table. I didn't want grain that didn't flow nicely or evenly after removing a leaf so I buffed that section as well. 

I allowed the stain to fully dry after completing the wood grain pattern on the top of the table. I probably let it sit for 10 hours or longer to give it enough time to fully set. To seal the table I used my matte finish polycrylic. This was applied in a thin layer on the table top and edges where the stain was applied. Again, I let this fully dry before adding a 2nd and then 3rd coat. After each coat was fully dry I took a brown paper lunch bag and used it to gently sand the sealed area. This helps to remove any bubbles that might have settled with the seal. 

The overall this project was pretty inexpensive given the size of it. I paid $80 for the table, and used about a half can of paint ($7), a third of the stain ($5) and about half a can of sealant ($8). I also used 3 paint brushes and a handful of rags. I would estimate that the entire project cost under $130. Not bad for a brand new beautiful table! Now I just need to finish painting and reupholstering the 6 chairs I picked up to go with it! Chair blog will be coming soon!

Brief YouTube Wood Grain Effect tutorial can be found here: https://youtu.be/F12rzALu1EI