trying to refinish a dining table

[herrdaherrda]

Ok let me explain what I've got going on. I bought an old table from a friend. Its nice but had significant heat and water marks, rings and different splotchy areas. I wanted to see if I could get rid of these without having to do a complete refinish, as I don't have good space for heavy sanding, and it has matching chairs I also didn't want to change. Being a novice I didn't know what the finish was on the table, so I looked at various online DIY water stain removal tricks, oil and vinegar, ironing, mayonnaise, etc. I first cleaned the table with water and murphys oil soap, then tried a bunch of these. What actually worked was a water and baking soda paste mixture. I sort of did it on accident and noticed it pulled off whatever was on there, including water marks. It did not however, seem to affect the stain or wood color, so I did the water / baking soda paste over the entire surface until it looked even. I was surprised at how well this pulled off whatever layer was on there, but didn't affect the color. Having gotten to an evenness I was happy with, I chose miniwax polycrilic as a finish coat. I wiped it free of dust, and put the first coat on using a foam brush. It went on fine, but I noticed it was leaving a brown color on the brush and in the pan. It was not, however, affecting the look of the table, so I kept going. First coat went on and looked ok, I let it dry and did a mild 220 sanding, and did a second coat. Still had residue coming off on the brush, but still looked ok. Let dry overnight and did a 3rd coat this morning, and still a light brown color came off on the brush. That's where I'm at now. My original plan was to do one or two more coats of satin polycrilic and then let it cure for a week or so.

So my main question is, is this ok since the table looks good? Will it cure ok in the end? Even though something is still being pulled off with the poly? Is it safe? Should I worry about potential fumes or toxins anything? 

I've considered doing a layer of shellac, and then finish with one more coat of poly?

Also I've read after the fact that maybe I shouldn't have even used polycrilic for a table top, do you think 4-5 coats will keep it durable for future use and not be tacky or block or stain easily from water?

any help / tips / suggestions / criticism is all very welcome thank you so much!!!!!

the first pic below is after I pulled the water marks and whatever finish off with the baking soda and water, and the second is after the first coat of poly.

--David.

[Unknown craftsman]

Polycrylic is pretty weak finish for a table top.

But it sounds like you are almost done and it doesn't look too bad.I would like to suggest that you use it and see how it wears.

A good table top finish has a hgh amount of solids and needs be sprayed.

 

Aj