Is there any hope for my sticky kitchen table?

[emer95]

I have a gorgeous oak table that is so sticky, I'm starting to hate it. My husband blames our two daughters for ruining it, but it's actually probably my fault for rubbing too hard with a wet cloth when they've spilled drips or bits of food. I can't even put a paper napkin down without it sticking to the table, especially in this heat and humidity.

I googled ways to salvage it, and I'm going to try cleaning it with Murphy's oil soap, and then use a wood wax. Hopefully that will work. The next step would be to have it professionally refinished, or buy a new one.

Any experience with this?

 

[cabanafrau]

My first thought was a wipedown w/ white vinegar, but I decided to Google. This is what I found: http://www.howtocleanstuff.net/how-to-clean-sticky-residue-from-a-wooden-table/

Hope it works.

 

[ohiomom28]

I have a gorgeous oak table that is so sticky, I'm starting to hate it. My husband blames our two daughters for ruining it, but it's actually probably my fault for rubbing too hard with a wet cloth when they've spilled drips or bits of food. I can't even put a paper napkin down without it sticking to the table, especially in this heat and humidity.

I googled ways to salvage it, and I'm going to try cleaning it with Murphy's oil soap, and then use a wood wax. Hopefully that will work. The next step would be to have it professionally refinished, or buy a new one.

Any experience with this?

Other than the link above, the only thing I am coming up with when I google is to sand it down and refinish it

I would also give your husband a cutting board.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

I have a gorgeous oak table that is so sticky, I'm starting to hate it. My husband blames our two daughters for ruining it, but it's actually probably my fault for rubbing too hard with a wet cloth when they've spilled drips or bits of food. I can't even put a paper napkin down without it sticking to the table, especially in this heat and humidity.

I googled ways to salvage it, and I'm going to try cleaning it with Murphy's oil soap, and then use a wood wax. Hopefully that will work. The next step would be to have it professionally refinished, or buy a new one.

Any experience with this?

I ran into the same situation with a butcher-block table that my parents had given us. I ended up refinishing it, but, if your stain is fine, you can just add a couple of coats of polyurethane to the table which should restore the protective coating. I ended up putting like 7 coats when I did my table, and it's still great, even after having to scrub dried cereal off of it!

 

[Coconut36]

Sanding it down and refinishing it. Odds are your finish is breaking down and that is why it is getting sticky. My parents table at about 20 years was started to get dull (but not really sticky) and my Dad was able sand it and restain it very easily and it looks beautiful again.

 

[disneyhand]

The same thing happened to an oak coffee table we owned years ago. My husband sanded, stained and then added a clear protective coat of a marine product. I can't remember what he called it, maybe varnish.

Anyway it was indestructible after that. Which was sad because I never really liked it to begin with. It was a hand me down for us. When we were done with it we gave it to a bachelor pal who still has it, looking as good as new.

 

[honeydiane1953]

Sanding it down and refinishing it. Odds are your finish is breaking down and that is why it is getting sticky. My parents table at about 20 years was started to get dull (but not really sticky) and my Dad was able sand it and restain it very easily and it looks beautiful again.

yes u will need to sand it down then re stain it.

 

[lovetoscrap]

Tablecloth!

 

[Nox54]

Tablecloth!

I vote for sanding it down

 

[turkeymama]

DH sanded ours down and refinished it a couple of years ago for the same reason. It really wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, although he may disagree with me.

I recovered the chairs around the same time.

 

[Buckalew11]

Well, since you love it, don't get rid of it. If nothing cleans it, sand it down and refinish it.

 

[RNMOM]

If you want to try it yourself, if it needs refinished, there might be an easier way.

We have a 30 some year old butcher block table. I looked for a long time to replace it be never came up with anything I liked better. This table is built like iron and other than a few dents from the boys over the years was like new. I wanted a cherry table and bought craftsman style chairs to go with the trestle table. The table was a natural maple color.

We dragged it to the garage and sanded it down till all the finish was off. Make it very smooth. We then used polyurethane in a spray can. I think we used 2-3 cans for the entire table. After we stained it the color we wanted we started applying thin layers. Allow it to dry then sand with fine steel wool to smooth out any raised grain. Spray again and allow to dry. Repeat till you have as many layers as you wish. I think we did 6 over 3 days. It is beautiful. Pay attention to the shine. Ours is a semigloss shine. You can get it in matte and gloss as well.

If you don't need to finish the whole table, this might be easy for you. You could cover the areas you don't refinish with newspaper. Just be sure you don't go so deep with the initial sanding that you remove the stain on the wood. There are a lot of places for advice on the web and it would be a heck of a lot cheaper than having it done. Just a little elbow grease and patience.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

Sanding it down and refinishing it. Odds are your finish is breaking down and that is why it is getting sticky. My parents table at about 20 years was started to get dull (but not really sticky) and my Dad was able sand it and restain it very easily and it looks beautiful again.

I had the same sticky problem a few years ago and this is what I did and it worked out great. It's very easy too!