I did my late night Pinterest browsing a.k.a. “research” and found that Citristrip would be the best option to limit the use of harsh smelly chemicals. I purchased both the liquid as well as the spray and got to work.The table originally had a leaf that was now missing and a split base. I dismantled as much as I could to get access to the most surface area possible. I painted the Citristrip onto the top and base using an old chip brush, then used the spray can to get into any nooks and crannies. Multiple DIY-ers recommended covering the piece with saran wrap and letting it sit overnight (shown on the left side of above image).
DIY the French Country Look on a Budget
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This was the aftermath of an overnight Citristrip “masque.” It quite literally resembled something that would come out of an oil filter. I almost threw in the towel at this point, but I had too much invested. I scraped off as much as I could with a plastic scraper, then scrubbed with the 3M stripping pads and a little bit of water. I did a final wipe down with mineral spirits to get any remaining residue off.
After TONS of scrubbing and scraping I was left with this on the top.
and this on the base.
The top still needed some sections repaired. I filled in any substainal missing wood and rot using JB Kwik Weld putty and wood filler.
A portion of the top had been broken off at one point, and poorly repaired. A removed that portion of the top, sanded down the old glue and reattached using my Kreg Jig for extra stabilizing.
For the bleaching process I simply wiped the surfaces down with 100% kitchen bleach. Be sure to do this outside for ventilation purposes, and use protective gloves. Doing this on a sunny day will speed up the drying process. I bleached with six coats and was left with the lightened wood look you see here on the right. After sanding down with 220 grit sandpaper I applied the Briwax liming wax (shown here on the left side for comparison).
Once everything was reassembled I was left with this beauty! The French Country look on a budget. This was a very time consuming process, but the end result was so worth it. You can see even more after images as well as instructions over on the blog!