Refinish dining room table

You will have to completely sand down the entire table if you want it to look really nice and professional when your done. You'll have to sand down quite a bit to get through the heatspots probably. Just make sure that after your done sanding, that everything is uniform. same thing with the scratches. However, these shouldn't be to hard to remove.

1. The finish can be removed with paint stripper for paint or varnish remover varnish and polyurethane applications. Start with this and use a scraper made for wood and also sandpaper will work at this stage. After all the finish is removed down to bare wood you can start fine tuning it's appreance with fine grit sandpaper.

2. When you removes finish and sanded to your liking, try to match the old color of the table as closely as possible with any brand of stain at your local home improvement store. (most stores test stain for you if you bring a piece of scrap wood with you).

3. apply the stain with a high quality brush or lint free cloth, the more stain and longer you wait before wiping off the excess, the darker it will become. apply the stain to acheive the desired look. Always wipe off excess stain after each short application to avoid pooling and uneven absoprtion of stain.

4. after stain drys 12-24 hours. you can spray on polyurethane or lacquer, which ever you prefer. It is recommended to do this with a professional or large scale sprayer to achieve a really clean, glossy finish. Wagner makes a good sprayer for about $69-$100. Using finishes in spray cans are good for small items, but not for a dining room table.

5. Allow finish to dry 12-24 hours and reapply as many time as desired to achieve glossy finish. Usually 2-3 even light applications work the best.

NOTE: an alternative method is to just treat the affected areas as described above. however, it will be more difficult to get the stain and finish to match. Depending on the damage of the wood, the size of affected area and lighting conditions, it might be easier and more cost effective to treat just the problem areas.
ALSO: The scares left by the scratches when stained and refinished after sanding just down to the bare wood can give the table a unique look and appeal.