I bought an old table in a thrift store a month or two ago. Nothing special but it was solid wood and cheap - $30. I thought I would have it dipped (I'm sick of stripping paint off myself) and maybe use it by the back door as a potting table. It is a horrendous burgundy/mahogany colour ... that colour of hair dye that women of a certain age should never ever use. I was hoping that by sending it to the dipper/stripper most of this finish would dissolve away. The table disappeared and I thought my husband had sent it off for me. He had but for something different. I had remarked in passing that it would be great with a zinc/galvanized top. Woke up this morning and this is what I found.
The old table had a zinc top. Kelvin had found a sheet metal worker to cover it for me. Great! One problem. He hadn't sent it to be stripped first. I have a job to do after all. Maybe I will strip it by hand except I have a feeling that I won't get all that purple red stain off. Time to paint I think. Grey? Off-white? Maybe a sagey, olively dirty green.
Kelvin had placed it carefully on the front veranda. He put down a rug, arranged chairs around it and even popped two candles on top. There are two tables out there at the moment. The neighbours must love how Kelvin arranges the furniture. We are carrying it down the front stairs and out the back when I finish this post.
The zinc man told us that it will age with time and that we can smear water across it to help it along. He did say that if we are impatient diluted hydrochloric acid really works. Where are my rubber gloves, goggles and mask? That sounds like my sort of furniture restoration!
Wed, 8 Aug 2012 
