Wax Malfunction--Not for every piece

Okay, to give the wax some credit, 

I was not smart enough to think this through when I applied the dark wax to the table top. 

I was very impatient, after all this was a new to me table that I purchased to have just in time for Christmas dinner and gatherings.  I needed it finished, and I needed it done in one day.  

HAHA!  My one weakness 😉

Here is the dark wax finish.....So beautiful and so soft and that is what I forgot!  

So soft that when hot stuff comes in contact with wax bad stuff happens! 

 So here are the original Marketplace pics.  I didn't realize how scratched up the surface was until hubby brought it home.  I knew that I wanted to darken the top and paint the legs anyway, so I decided to strip and sand it down.  After all Christmas was just around the corner.  Our other table was 3' x 6' and this one measures 3'8" x 6' with (2) 18" leaves to go on either end, giving us so much more room for guests to sit and food to be placed on the table. 

 I finished the top in one day!  I was so excited!  

I could wait until after January to paint the legs now that the top was beautiful! 

I was so foolish (still am).  

Wax is not a good finish on surfaces that are used with hot dishes, 

plus I did not allow any curing time for the wax or any other finish.  

After Christmas I decided that I like the darker Espresso stain vs the Oak or early American stain that I had.  

I stripped it again, sanded, and this time stained the top.  

I added poly and let it cure for the time it was to cure. (Good Girl!)

Here are the different stages it  went through.

I painted the bottom of the table in Annie Sloan's Graphite; I only used dark wax over the Graphite.

 Here it is how it looks today.

The poly still chipped and bubbled at spots, which never happened to me before.  

I was wondering if it had something to do with the stripper I used. 

 I did clean it with mineral spirits before applying the stain. 

 Hmmm...don't know.