Coffee - colored Coffee Table

[Brian Kent]

It was the last coat of varnish.
The good folks over at Project Finishing have been leading me through a Waterlox Varnish finish.

Yesterday I prepped the brush with a brush comb. Soaked, dried, & fluffed it.
I filtered the Waterlox Varnish with a coffee filter.
I carefully leveled the surface of the coffee table with a 600 grit wet-sanding.
Cleaned the surface with a dry cloth, my hand, and another dry cloth.

Checked this morning from all angles of light. Re-sanded a little.
Cleaned again with damp cloth, hand, dry cloth.
Got everything in place. Went to make some coffee.

Made a nice rich cup of Cafe Pejaro from Trader Joes. Perfect coffee. Dark, rich, no cream needed. About the color of Waterlox Varnish. Perfect aroma. Perfect first sip. Ready to go make some art.

I dipped in the first brush-full. Pushed the 1/3 full brush against the side. I have learned a lot. I brush half the table cross-wise, loading up just enough at just the right tempo to lay it on without bubbles. I switched to lengthwise-strokes. Raised the brush angle just high enough to get rid of any air bubbles. There were none. None! I am really getting good at this!

Then I went to get a sip of coffee.


Wait a second -the coffee cup's in my hand.

I looked over on the bench and the lid was still on the jar of varnish.
I had just laid down a smooth, bubble free, perfect coat of Pejaro's coffee on my Coffee Table.

[John Keeton]

!!!!!!

Brian, I guess the question is, did you proceed to put a nice even coat of Cafe Pejaro from Trader Joes on the whole piece just to start on an even keel????

[Matt Schuman]

Perhaps a better scenario than drinking a mouthful of varnish!

[Brian Kent]

Since he turns 54 years old today, he is entitled to a little preemptive senility. But I'm not letting him near the garbage disposal!

swmalhmafhp

[Brian Kent]

In my own defense, it could happen to anyone…

[Ben Galluzzo]

You know. I bet that the initial use of a lot of unique finishes and finish additives began the same way. Heck. You might have the next "coffee paint" or one day you'll see recipes for a simple "no-fail" coffee finish on the Home & Garden Channel.

[Vince Shriver]

You know. I bet that the initial use of a lot of unique finishes and finish additives began the same way. Heck. You might have the next "coffee paint" or one day you'll see recipes for a simple "no-fail" coffee finish on the Home & Garden Channel.

Thinking the same thing.

[Don Orr]

Couple things though;

Happy Birthday !

It could have been worse-you didn't drink the varnish.

Was the coffee satin, matte, or gloss ?

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
Actually - I often use coffee as a stain/dye.
It has a nice warm, not-too-chocolate brown tone.
Works great on shelf pin holes to color them just a tad so they don't stand out.

[Ben Galluzzo]

Hello,
Actually - I often use coffee as a stain/dye.
It has a nice warm, not-too-chocolate brown tone.
Works great on shelf pin holes to color them just a tad so they don't stand out.

Really? That's pretty interesting. I've done similar staining with tea and cloth and attempted rotting walnuts and using that with wood. I'm guessing that the coffee would be much less messy. I'll have to give that a try. Thanks.