Carpentry and Woodworking - Help! Dinning room table top

Hello, I am looking for some advice. This will be my first time working with wood. I have a dinnig room table that was given to me by a friend. the table top is pretty scratched up and the paint is chipping. I would like to sand it and make the tabletop smoother, i wouldl like to stain or paint it a dark wood color or mahaganey, and seal it to resist every day wear and tear such as eating, banging, and cleaning. Can someone offer some advice? Thank you. Rosa

If the paint is chipping and you want to stain it mahogany, you will need to strip it first. Then you will know what the wood looks like. Then you can decide about staining. Sanding it after it is stripped will be a better investment in time. If it is veneered, then too much sanding may be risky in that you may sand through the veneer. Some dings and bumps just add to the character of the wood.

If you stain it, a coat of something on the order of polyurethane can be quite protective. If you paint it, then it's complete.

HTH

Thanks for the advice that is exactly what we started doing is stirring the paint. and it looks like we have an oak table that we are working with. it's a very light colored wood. You think its best to paint it instead of stainging it? also what grid number paper do i use to sand it before I paint or stain? thank you for all your help it is greatly appreciated.

My thoughts on paint or stain have to do more with your intentions. If you have stripped the finish to the bare wood, stain and finish are logical choices. I would paint it only if the surface itself is too damaged or too ugly to stain, unless you want a painted table.

After the surface is stripped and cleaned, sanding about 180 to 220 grit to smooth the surface should do it.

Hope this helps.