Refinishing Project: kitchen table and chairs

I don't really do anything small...
So, naturally, my first project of a refinishing nature was my kitchen table and chairs. Of course.  And because I just crash into these things head-first, I have NO before pictures.  Naturally.

I do have this picture I thought to take about half-way through the process.  This is the back of one of the bar stools that matched the table before it became a black beauty. 

So oak.  So glossy.  So what to do?  

I did at least an hour a lot of indisputable research, you know, reading other blogs, before I was sure there was one and only one way (more on this later) to tackle this beast of a first project: forget sanding, stripping, and scraping, and start with a coat of this stuff:

I just wiped each piece down, let it dry, then went to town on it with the stuff.  Verdict: stinky, but not as bad as I expected.  I started with one chair instead of tackling the table first (apparently I do have some inhibitions...) and learned right away that the stuff goes on thick and dries thick.  I had to be very careful with every brush stroke, keeping the "grain" consistent, as well as not letting it go on too thickly.  This was very tedious, and dragged on and on.  Next time, I think I'll try a spray primer.

The next step (after allowing the piece to dry completely) is to lightly sand the whole thing, and then wipe it down with tack cloth.  (I used a microfiber cloth and it worked great!)  I picked up that rubber sanding block a few days into the project, and I will never sand again without it.  First of all, it saved me a ton of time and sandpaper.  And it cost less than $3.

Then comes the fun part!  I chose to paint my table and chairs black to fit with a mini kitchen/dining area redo I've been slowly working on.  The paint I used (and will continue to use, always and forever) was a semi-gloss latex by Behr.  

Many people have their own go-to brand of paint, and for me, that's Behr.  Hands down.  When we bought and remodeled our house, we did the whole thing with one can of paint per room.  It goes on smooth, and looks great with one coat.  

For funsies, we painted one wall and the lower part of a char rail on two walls of a room with Kilz latex paint, just to try it out.  (Consumer Reports rated it higher than Behr, so we were curious).  I'll just say that it didn't come close to even comparing.  It was very watery and required at least two coats everywhere, with some spots needing three. We're sold on Behr.  (You can find it at the Home Depot). 
End unpaid advertisement.

While I was picking up my paint at my favorite Orange Store, I also bought some brushes.  The guy who mixed my paint was very helpful in suggesting this baby:

Hey paint counter guy at Home Depot!  Thanks for the recommendation!

It's small, the handle is rubber, so it's flexible, the bristles are angled...it was so nice to use.  Seriously, if you have a lot of painting in your future, grab one of these babies.  The muscles in your hand will thank you.

Just like with the primer, it's important to pay attention to detail and the "grain" when you paint.  For these spindles, I would glob it on side to side, then go over it in long up and down strokes to smooth it out.

Once your first coat dries, lightly sand again with a very fine grain sand paper, wipe it down, and then, if it needs it, give it a second coat.  I don't know of any case where a second coat of black is not needed when covering white, and my chairs definitely needed a second coat.

Here are some shots of the table after the primer coat and the first coat of paint:

And here's another helpful tip, and my instrument of choice for the tabletop:

Condensed foam rollers are my best friends on any smooth surface. 

I have another project I'll share with you soon where I used this roller to paint a lot of bead board that will be very visible in my new dining area.

And there you have it!  Beautiful updated furniture without a lot of cost.

So what do you think?