I am looking to see if anyone in the community would be interested in taking on the job of replacing the table top and refreshing the bench finish on a picnic table I built a long time ago. It’s old and has been rained on so many times (took me way too long to realize it really needs some cover) that the table top is completely warped and unusable. I’ll share some pictures below, but the table top that needs replaced is around 8’ by 4’ (a little over an inch thick I think, but I’d be open to thicker for some additional resistance to warping) and the benches are around 8’ by 1’.
I think the finish that I used originally is now called PPG Proluxe.
I’m open to any and all suggestions on how to do all of this, my main aim is to make the table usable as economically as possible.
Please reach out if you are interested in taking this on or know someone else who can. Thanks!
Not interested but if you want economy, no one better that yourself to do the work. Cedar for the most part does not rot. If the set can be taken appart, take the seats off, run them through the sander and few times then flip them (bottom becomes top) and refinish. The top, rip or cut at the joints, run through the sander to clean out, flip boards (hopefully, bows dont go through) and re-glue, try to keep the board width no more than 4", I would go 3" and alternate wide board, thin board and so on. You may need to get a small new board to make up for the loss of cutting. If you want a better job, once the boards are cleaned, you could cut them into 1 1/2" strips and flip them on the edge to glue them. Again, you will need some new boards and and also alternate old new boards to get a nice pattern. You should be able to reuse the lumber once is cleaned of the weathering patina. Whichever course you take use better bracing underneath, if you only head two boards double that. If you use the 1 1/2" strip would give you a nice thick strong board resistant to bowing counting the boards are nice and flat and proper ammount of water resistant glue. Your killer part is labor, not so much material. Thats why I say if you want economy, you provide labor and you will come ahead. There is also the chance that someone may want the experience. Almost forgot, use an outdoor clear finish, Pro luxe or formelly known as Deft laquer it is not designed for out doors at all. A good old outdoor protectant is a mix of used oil and diesel (Google it) but i can’t remember how long it gives off VOCs and since is a table, it may not be a good idea. Good luck!
Thanks so much for the response and the advice, I really like the idea of reusing the wood from the top. There’s certainly a lot that can be reused once it’s cleaned up. And I would love nothing more than to do this job myself but I no longer live in Austin (but the table does) so it would have to be someone local.
Will keep my fingers crossed someone is interested in taking this on.
For some reason this stayed in my head and last night I was watching a video with lots of rain it came to me.. more than likely the culprit of the table top was water drainage. So the easiest solution would be rip/cut the boards at the glue lines or joints, clean them out by sanding them and install them with 1/8" gap for water to drain. No new boards needed as the gap would make up for the loss of material when cutting (the blade is about 1/8") but you would need about four or more cross member bracing pieces under to keep them together. You can drive the screws from the bottom if you want a pristine top.
