The Cathedral Conference Table

I think Kenny Rogers said it best in the song “The Gambler”

You’ve got to know when to hold ’em
Know when to fold ’em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run

Ron and Claire hoofed the conference table (in two parts) down the stairs from the old Conference Room to it’s new home in the Chapter Room. This is a gorgeous table and it fits perfectly in the space and will be a welcome addition for meetings that occur there. It was a little tired and needed a refinish. This is where the story starts to go terribly wrong.

Claire sanded the table and applied a coat of gel stain to the top of the table. The jar said it would be dry in 12 hours. It never dried. Weird but not the end of the world. So Claire then stripped the gel stain off and sanded the table again. This took 3 coats of mineral spirits.

A different gel stain was purchased and Claire applied another coat (under the close eye if Ron who said maybe the first time she put it on too liberally). The new stain was to dry in 12 hours. It never dried!!!!!

So Claire striped the table again with mineral spirits (sanding between each coat) and is now considering the Japanese wood burning technique of “shou sugi ban”. She has also considered actually burning the whole thing right down to the ground………..

I think it is time to admit defeat and call in an expert.