I thought I took a “before” photo of this thrifted tray, but alas, I can not find it! So let me just say…it was pretty nasty! Someone glued a piece of rubber cupboard liner to the top of it and the grid was filled with all kinds of yuk! Now that I think about it…it might be a good thing I can’t find the before picture! You are welcome!
I loved the shape of the tray and the wood was in good condition so I took a chance and brought it home. I pulled the rubber liner off and then used Goof-Off to remove the glue that was left behind.
I wanted to strip the varnish off the tray so I tried the Easy-Off oven cleaner method. I’ve used this method before with minimal results…but…it seemed worth trying again.
I let it sit on the tray for several hours but when I wiped it off…disappointingly…not much had happened.
So…I wiped it down with more Goof-Off and that worked almost immediatly! Varnish be gone!
I then gave it a good scrub with dish soap and let it dry overnight.
The next day I applied two coats of food safe mineral oil. A dark spot in the center of the tray appeared with the oil but I don’t mind. I could probably spend a little more time and sand that spot…but for now…I am happy with a bit of wabi-sabi!
I love how it turned out and have been using it for “tea time.” It feels a little decadent to carry my tea on a tray. lol
I think I paid $3.99 for the tray and it has returned 10x that in joy! Simple pleasures are the best!
Note: I recently learned that the oven cleaner stripping method works best if it sits in the sun while it’s working. And…the results take a while to show…as in the next day!
Let us know in the comments below if you have a favorite method of refinishing wood!