Table for firewood?

This is my kitchen table. We've had it for about 6 yrs, and it was really starting to show it's wear and tear. A couple chairs had some minor damage and the top looked terrible, thanks to my children using their cutlery to "trace" things into the finish.

I went ahead and clamped and glued the fractures, and filled the spots with gaps and sanded it all smooth. Then I took to painting the chairs....all 8. This was my first attempt with a paint sprayer and once we got it all figured out, I was quite impressed. I did the first coat with the sprayer and the second coat with a brush. Because I wanted really minimal distressing and a fairly smooth finish, I opted to dry sand the chairs. It feels like I have been painting chairs for weeks....oh wait, I have!

This was the first time I had worked with Endurance Finish from Ce Ce Caldwell. I started with the Satin Finish, but I wanted something a bit more durable as the table clearly takes some serious abuse.I was SO impressed with this product. It dries to a really tough finish and applies like water. Then as I got to the bottom of the can, things took a turn.....

(Remember that I have been plugging away at this for the entire month of July in small portions. It's been a VERY time consuming project and I am completely bored and over this stupid table. Keep that in mind as this post continues.....)

 After 2 full coats of Beckley Coal on the table top, I decided to wet sand the top and edging as it was still in my dining room. Dry sanding makes a HUGE mess, but leaves a great finished product. I wanted to avoid the black dust on the dining room floor. Soon as I started wet sanding, the paint started pulling up instantly. (ahhhh crap) This was one of the few times that I should have listened to my instinct and done a light sand. The top was clean, but had a really laminated finish on top. It just didn't adhere. So I repainted that spot and then went ahead a dry sanded the ENTIRE table. Then it took me an hour to clean the ENTIRE floor. 

Soon as I started to apply the Endurance to the top, it started to bubble in certain spots. (great! just what I needed)

 

I did a light dry sand over the entire top again and smoothed out the bubbles, and applied my third and fourth coat on Endurance.....then the bubbles CAME BACK! (not kidding about turning it into fire wood at this point)

Then finally at 10:00 last night, after kids went to bed, I set to using the last bit of Endurance on the apron and legs of the table. When I turned the can I noticed a thick "sludge" at the bottom. It was too thick to even stir evenly into the product with my brush. I needed a spoon. Once mixed, I started to apply it and noticed it just wasn't applying smoothly. As it dried, I noticed it took on a gray chalky appearance. (awesome...just great)

So, after 2 FULL cans of Beckley Coal, and one entire can of Endurance Finish I am debating setting this jerk of a project on fire in the back yard. I am SO OVER this entire thing that I can't even muster up enough steam to want to finish the stupid thing.......

So......off to Spruce I go today to pick up another can of Endurance, which I will thoroughly stir, not "swirl in the can" as suggested in the instructions.
This is not a reflection of the paint or the product. The Endurance on the table top is AMAZING. I am really impressed with the sealing properties of this product...I am less impressed at ignoring my internal voice that told me not to half-ass the table.
On a bright note, there is no problem with the chairs and although time consuming, turned out BEAUTIFUL. Thank fully...maybe I'll spare the four I have completed from the fire and only burn the four half finished ones....maybe?
I will keep you posted as I attempt to finish this project by the end of summer!
Thanks for enduring my rant, and hope you learned something from my error. :)