Cafe Table: Untitled

Dimensions: 24" Diameter, 3' high

Materials:  Metal Cafe Table, Dremel electric hand tool with wire brush and diamond grinding bit attachments, Power Drill with wire brush attachments, Liquid Nails for small projects (clear), 2 china salad plates, assorted stained glass, mirror, sanded grout, Envirotex Lite resin coating.

Challenges:  This table was a lot rustier than it looks.  The stripping process was very labor intensive.

Date: Summer 2001

At first glance, the table looked like it could use a little stripper and a wire brush and it would be ready to mosaic.  Not exactly.  My husband, Dave spent several hours with a Dremel and a power drill, stripping the rust and several coats of paint off, getting it down to the bare metal.

Once we were down to the bare metal, we primed it with Rustoleum primer then painted all surfaces to protect against further rusting.  Dave devised the hangers you see to the right for painting the legs and leg braces by tying a heavy screw to some heavy twine.  He dropped the screw down the center of the hollow legs and used the screw to hold the twine in place at the bottom.  Then he hung them from the rafters of the garage so he could spray paint them and get an even coat on each. 

This is my Minister of Metal Stripping and Refinishing, Dave Zimmerman.

Once the paint was completely dry (I gave it 2 days), I started to assemble the mosaic.  The client who commissioned this table wanted the "Table Setting" design that many mosaic artists are creating now.  I picked out two different sets of china from a local "fleatique" shop and she picked these.  She had seen a similar table in a shop in Pittsburgh and liked the look of mirror depicting the flatware.  Here, I am tracing my own flatware for the design.  I used tile nippers to break the plates and ground the footplates down with a diamond bit attachment on my Dremel.  

After I got the flatware looking like I wanted it, I filled in the background with a beige iridescent glass and a few orange, lime green and yellow pieces.  I did a 1/4 inch border in flat black glass. 

I used about 75% sanded grout and 25% un-sanded.  I would have used all un-sanded but the gaps between the china pieces in particular were a little too wide and I wanted to make sure there was no cracking.  I have also had several challenges with the un-sanded grout I use (Polyblend) and iridescent glass.  It loves the iridescent coating on the glass and is extremely difficult to clean. 

Once the grout is completely set and the initial haze has been wiped away, I use a soft plastic bristle brush (like a vegetable brush) and a diluted solution of 1 part water, 1 part Grout Haze Clean-Up by Aqua Mix. (I have since switched to using a 1 part water, 1 part distilled white vinegar solution.  Easier on the hands, tough on the haze)

I rinsed the solution with a clean sponge then polished with a balled up paper towel.  This is the best way I have found to get any residue off the iridescent glass.  This does shred paper towels and creates a lot of dust.  For stubborn spots, I use dry Q-tips.

Before applying the resin coating, I gave it a good brushing with my trusty horse hair brush.  This is probably my favorite tool.  I inherited it from my Aunt Maureen who was an extremely talented artist and left this life (and mine) too early.  I use this everyday to sweep all sorts of dust from my work area.  It really works great with glass dust in my cutting area and washes really well.

This is a really bad shot of the first coat of resin.  It is about a 1/4" thick and there are a few places where the china sits a little too high.  This table is going to be used on a patio and needs to be very functional.  I am coating it with the resin to protect the hand painted finish on the china, the iridescent coating on the background glass, and to make a level, useable surface for the client.  It will be very easy for her to clean and gives the illusion that the entire mosaic has been fused under clear glass. 

We found it very difficult to capture the finish with our digital camera. 

Here is the full view...

Here is the finished top.  Another happy Client and another really fun project to do.  I have to find another job for my husband soon.  He has been walking around the house with the Dremel "testing" it on stuff.