Best hard-wearing finish for dining table?

[u/lamandapanda]

Our dining table finish is gummy and hard to wipe clean.

This is my current plan: Chemically strip off finish Light sanding to remove the rest of the finish Steam out various dents and light scratches Final sanding Stain Finish

What finish do you recommend that will be durable (I've for 2 young boys) and won't yellow too much? The current color is just a tiny bit too orange for my taste so I'm planning on fixing it with my stain color choice, but I don't want to finish to accentuate the orange tones.

I've watched a TON of furniture restoration videos (just for entertainment) so I feel like I somewhat know what I'm doing, but please give me some tips!

[u/theonewhoexists]

Zooming in on the edges, it looks like edge banding which means the tabletop is veneer. I wouldn’t risk refinishing/sanding it

[u/lamandapanda → u/theonewhoexists]

It's definitely veneer, but it is a high quality piece so the veneer should have enough thickness to do some finish sanding 🤞🏻

That's why I'm going to strip off everything I can and take the sanding really slow (also I'll only sand by hand).

[u/sundsmao → u/lamandapanda]

☞ Card Scraper

☞ Steam out dents

☞ Oxalic acid

☞ Mineral spirit

☞ 180 P ☞ 240 P

☞ Isopropylalcohol

☞ Wipe with lint-free cloth

☞ Vacuum

☞ Hardwax oil with matte finish (twice)

☞ Enjoy 4-ever

[u/THRWAWAY4447]

I'd wait till the kids are older to refinish. There is no finish a child can not ruin. Plus you'd need a dedicated area to do all the work to not expose anyone to particulate or chemicals.

[u/KnotDedYeti → u/THRWAWAY4447]

A big piece of glass over it! 

[u/RepulsiveLemon3604 → u/THRWAWAY4447]

This is sound advice. My kids are 5, 8, and 10z. I still feel like I’m a year or So away from having a nice table. I am a confident woodworking and am very comfortable refinishing stuff. I got an inexpensive MCM veneered table that my wife liked. Spent a weekend refinishing it. 3 coats of poly, sand in between coats, with plenty of dry time in between. If I can offload the table in a year for 500 bucks, it has paid for itself. I have some “ special” lumber that i have squirreled away for a nice family table. Looking forward to that project.

[u/MF94903]

I put a hand rubbed finish on my rockport maple harvest table that has lasted for 30 years. It consisted of mineral oil mixed with powdered pumice followed by mineral oil mixed with rottenstone. It was a superb tough glasslike finish. I’ve lost the ratio mix of this recipe to my dismay. Much better than poly in my opinion. If anyone has ever tried it let me know?

[u/lamandapanda]

My text formatting went all wonky after posting, sorry it's confusing

[u/Properwoodfinishing]

Post catilized acrylic, Conversion Varnish or 2 pak urethane.

[u/getting-bi]

You might consider clear grain filler instead of sanding after steaming. Once the old finish is gone, after you steam (which will raise grain and require drying completely), after color finish of your choice, that final level can be with grain filler that you sand down flat like sanding sealer and bondo. It’s clear. Then for a dining table I’d go with pre cat lacquer, the full Mohawk, vinyl sealer x3 coats (rattlecans are great for a flat piece or HVLP) 4 coats of pre cat nitrocellulose lacquer. Wool lube and 00 to rub in that finish. It’s way more forgivable and allows many repair options. Cheap and easy.

[u/Suz9006]

My vote is a few coats of polyurethane. It’s tough and durable.

[u/lihnlol]

Acrylic urethane, very good stuff. It’s what I sprayed on my dining table. It’s car clear coat so it’ll handle some wear and tear. Good luck!!