what's the best way to go about restoring this coffee table that's been sitting outside for 1+ yr into a flat clean indoor coffee table. many of the boards are uneven but wood seems to be in generally good condition. Three some stain stripper on it but seemed to dry up almost immediately, maybe because it's so sunny. more pics to follow
>>1011499
Sand it until it's as smooth as you like.
Apply stain.
If you can disassemble it (removing the top from the base and such), then do so as it will make the sanding a lot easier to do.
>>1011511
This. If you've got a portable planer and aren't going to maul yourself with it (fuck those things can be dangerous) it might be a good idea to shave the tops down and sand them cleaner. Ree pose any end grains, refinish, then sand and refinish again. Your boards could be too warped to ever sit nicely again, in that case grab a pry bar and see what you can remove and replace vs what absolutely has to stay.
I did something similar for a bench and after attacking the bastard with a big hand plane I got the seat roughly smoothed, orbital sanding at slow speeds took care of the rest. Attached is a picture of the side after sanding and attaching new plugs in my counter bored screwholes. Not a good picture but it shows what you can do with wood that's been badly warped. You will lose dimensions but as long as your joints are good it should still work.
sorry guys, project abandoned, took a look underneath and the spots where the legs meet the tabletop was all rotted and wet under all 4 legs
>>1011622
So what?
Fix it.
