08-25-2026, 10:29 PM
Some more progress on the Kiel Table. As I mentioned earlier, the top was already stripped by someone so working on it was a "quick win."
The Aqua Coat grain filler went on easily. The process i used was to sand to 220, spread it on with a broad putty knife, scrape off as much excess as possible and let it dry for an hour. Resand with 320 and repeat the coating and drying. Repeat a 3rd time if necessary (I did). I'd say it was pretty well filled, only a few spots that I missed, much better than my Timbermate approach. This stuff is very spreadable and sands easily. There are numerous youTube videos available online.
After the final Aqua Coat dried over night, two coats of Deft spray Sanding Sealer, a light 320 sanding, then Mohawk Medium Brown Ultra Classic Toner until I get it to the color I want. Ultra Classic is the dye based toner which is more transparent than the pigment based Mohawk Finish Toner. Eventually I'll put down some Deft Gloss Lacquer but that will wait until the rest of the table is stripped, toned and ready for the clear. I'll also put a darker brown toner around the edges and at various places around the table, a bit more visible than the original but it worked well for me before. So far...
A bit of metal clean up of the brace that keeps the table top open, the left side has been cleaned with 0000 steel wool and a little WD40.
Most recently I've started the mind numbing, tedious task of stripping the table legs. I was planning on using Citristrip but realized it seems to scrape and sand off pretty well. That's a little slower but a lot less mess. I don't think I'll be able to scrape the sides (i've used a box cutter blade to do the scraping) but it may sand off OK; we'll see. The closest leg is mostly done, the right leg still needs the vertical grooves sanded. After that only 4 more legs, stretchers, and then the sides and upper rim portion of the table.
I did take the rusty metal feet off the legs, 3 came out whole and 3 had the nail portion break off. I could have polished them up but I think some plastic ones will be less risky for messing up rugs and scratching floors.
The Aqua Coat grain filler went on easily. The process i used was to sand to 220, spread it on with a broad putty knife, scrape off as much excess as possible and let it dry for an hour. Resand with 320 and repeat the coating and drying. Repeat a 3rd time if necessary (I did). I'd say it was pretty well filled, only a few spots that I missed, much better than my Timbermate approach. This stuff is very spreadable and sands easily. There are numerous youTube videos available online.
After the final Aqua Coat dried over night, two coats of Deft spray Sanding Sealer, a light 320 sanding, then Mohawk Medium Brown Ultra Classic Toner until I get it to the color I want. Ultra Classic is the dye based toner which is more transparent than the pigment based Mohawk Finish Toner. Eventually I'll put down some Deft Gloss Lacquer but that will wait until the rest of the table is stripped, toned and ready for the clear. I'll also put a darker brown toner around the edges and at various places around the table, a bit more visible than the original but it worked well for me before. So far...
A bit of metal clean up of the brace that keeps the table top open, the left side has been cleaned with 0000 steel wool and a little WD40.
Most recently I've started the mind numbing, tedious task of stripping the table legs. I was planning on using Citristrip but realized it seems to scrape and sand off pretty well. That's a little slower but a lot less mess. I don't think I'll be able to scrape the sides (i've used a box cutter blade to do the scraping) but it may sand off OK; we'll see. The closest leg is mostly done, the right leg still needs the vertical grooves sanded. After that only 4 more legs, stretchers, and then the sides and upper rim portion of the table.
I did take the rusty metal feet off the legs, 3 came out whole and 3 had the nail portion break off. I could have polished them up but I think some plastic ones will be less risky for messing up rugs and scratching floors.




