Daddy's Tables

The finished table

My Dad is the hardest person to buy presents for.  So for his birthday this year I was super excited because I finally made time to finish a surprise project for him that I had intended to finish a decade ago!  When my Dad was in junior high welding class he made two little side tables.  They originally had cream colored vinyl with gold metallic flecks and black and white check mini tiles- the perfect little mid-century modern pieces that stayed in my Grandma and Grandpa's house until they passed away.  I inherited these tables and held on to them for years before I finally decided to redo them as a surprise gift for my Dad.  First we removed all the old rotten materials until just his welded frame was left.  I re-painted the metal in a rust proof hammered metallic finish.  Then Dan cut plywood to fit in the frames.  I painted the wood with a sealing weather proof primer paint.  Next I broke slate tiles and layer out a pattern on the wood boards and secured the patterns with mastic.  When it was dry I applied a nice neutral colored grout to the tile.  This is where I hit a big snag in my project that almost ruined the tables.  The grout wouldn't come off the tiles!  I urgently called my neighbor who is a professional tiler and he told me I had selected grout that had epoxy in it and once set it wouldn't come off.  He tried his best to get it off the slate but it had been too long.  I was bummed.

 Since it was night I decided to quit for the day and clean up.  My finger nails were covered in cement-like grout that wouldn't wash off.  Then I remembered my Jamberry lacquer remover and to my surprise it took the grout right off.  Later that night I was lying in bed and had an idea.  If the lacquer remover took the grout off my nails maybe it could take the grout off the slate!  The next morning I used one and half bottles of lacquer remover to clean up my grout job on the tables and they looked perfect! The last step in making the tables was sealing the grout and tile.  After that they were ready to put in my parents' yard for my Dad's birthday surprise.  It turned out great; a nostalgic set of patio pieces redone in natural and timeless finishes that matched my parents' house.

Luke and Grandpa at Grandpa's birthday party!