Refinishing a table and chairs
 

I'm thinking of doing a quick and dirty refinishing of our kitchen table and chairs. They're old, but not really antique - they used to be my grandmothers, and are a pretty regular dark-stained and varnished set. 5 years of kids have removed the finish from the arms of the chairs, and overall the finish is in really poor condition.

Is it possible to just hit it all with spraypaint as it is? I'd like it to be a colour, rather than a stain finish. I'd rather avoid having to strip the varnish and stain off. I'm not concerned about a perfect showroom finish, because it's going to need to be refinished again in a few years anyway. But I don't want to shoot it with paint just to have it all flake off in a few weeks.

Clean well with TSP (trisodium phosphate). Lightly sand with 120grit. Clean with TSP again.
Paint.

Get the gunk or dirt off and sand it lightly with 150 to 220 grit sandpaper. Spray away with oil base paint if you can.

These days I rarely use anything higher than 120 grit. Too slow, too many sheets, not enough bite, and hard on the fingers. 40 or 60 grit knocks it down flat.

I second the TSP, but not sure even oil based paint will stick to varnish. You can put quality latex topcoat over oil primer, but oil won't stick to water primer.

Might give a quick call to a paint store or two and ask about adhesion. If you primer, use the same shade or lighter depending on the color and saturation(eg yellow topcoat on white primer) for better coverage.
I discovered this once after spraying the third expensive coat of light yellow/green on our porch wicker, but it still wasn't yellow.

Sand, wash and prime. If you are unsure of the base paint use Zinser primer, it will adhere to anything. Then spray whatever you want on top.

Once you go this route I suspect they will never be salvaged. Too much work to get back to bare wood.

Unless you have a sprayer and can put on several coats (at least two), I'd recommend painting it with a brush. It'll put a lot more paint on, and that's what you need for furniture that'll be taking as much abuse as a dinette set.

In other words, if you're thinking of spray cans, you're gonna probably see damage to the coverage fairly soon. Not to mention the fact that you'll have lots of waste, overspray, and paint drifting and getting on everything nearby when you paint it unless you have a booth.

Sand, Zinsser/Kilz, spray.

If you can beg/borrow a compressor, use a Harbor freight HVLP gun. Works really well for a cheap gun.

The reason I suggested the TSP is because ofthe grease that is on the table and chairs from food and hands. Cleaning it first will aid in the sandaper not gumming up. After sanding, some deep oils will be brought to the surface so another bath will remove it.
I totally agree on the Zinsser..that stuff is amazing..it will grip glass.

+(whatever number we are on) concerning the cleaning.

Clean
Clean
Clean again. For the final wipe use automotive type pre-paint cleaner or Denatured Alcohol.

Years of human oils plus countless other types of cleaners containing everything you can imagine are soaked into the table. Don't be surprised if you see some fish-eyeing despite everything you do. If it happens, let it dry, sand more and reapply primer. Repeat until primed surface looks the way it should. Only use oil based primer - the best you can find.

You guys are awesome - thanks for all the tips! When I get around to doing it, I'll post before and after shots.