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This bench was on its way to a lonely end as a plant stand in the back of a garden. It was weathered, cracked, broken and rough as guts. But it had good bones, (which means it didn't wobble when I sat on it - yay!)
I started by removing the 2 pieces of wood at the back that the former owner had used to make it into a seat before losing interest. Then I used my Ozito random sander (240 grit) to strip it back to the wood, which was surprisingly undamaged but did have some water stains, especially where the layers of paint had held it against the wood.
Next, I filled any gaps in joints and where the wooden back slats had been with Monarch Fill Sand and Go putty. It is quick, very easy and comes with putty, spatula and sanding block all in one.
While the putty was drying, I used folded sandpaper to sand between the slats which had 3 coats of paint and 1 coat of dark wood stain.
There. Were. Tears.
I knew I wanted to stain the seat part and any remaining paint would practically glow if left on the wood.
Once I'd sanded my fingerprints off along with the remaining paint, I gave it and the dry putty a quick 80grit sand, dusted it really well and began painting.
I thought about using my Ozito sprayer but I'm still learning with it and didn't want to have to sand everything off if I didn't like it! I used a medium and small brush and applied British Paints.
NB: I'm often asked why I use an interior paint instead of chalk or boutique paint and the reason is because it's an amazingly versatile paint. It goes on everything, has great self leveling so brush strokes are fewer and it's very economical.
After painting the underside with several coats and finishing the arm sections, I double checked there were no left over paint chips on the seat. With a dep breath, I used Cabots wood stain in 'Walnut'. One coat was enough and NO GLOWING PAINT CHIPS!
I allowed 12 hours of drying time before spraying with 2 coats Monocel Polyurethane. I prefer the spray can because NO brush marks ever! A good sealer made this piece useable indoors as a entry seat or end of the bed blanket seat or an outdoor garden bench. I did add some furniture floor protectors on each leg incase it was going on polished wood floors or tiles.
This piece sold within 2 hours and went to a beautiful home instead of landfill.Yay!
What a lovely transformation you've been able to achieve there, @DanaR. It's wonderful that you've included images and details of how you went about the project. I'm sure any of our members that have similar looking benches are now considering if they could do something like this too.
Many thanks for sharing, and well done.
Mitchell
Hi @DanaR
What a fantastic rescue. It's great that you saw past the old paintwork and realized that this bench still had a second life in it. I just wanted to save your fingerprints for your next project. If you ever find yourself stripping paint in a very tight area, I suggest using Citristrip 946ml Paint Stripper Gel in combination with Craftright 5-in-1 Scraper. This is next-level serious renovator stuff so, I strongly recommend getting Trojan A1+P2 Half Mask Respirator in conjunction with Protector Wide Vision Safety Goggles. It will cut your paint stripping time in half, but you must take appropriate safety when using this.
It's great to see that you've got the Ozito PXC 18V 125mm Random Orbital Sander it's a good sander with variable speed control. If you want more practice with your sprayer, I suggest getting a test table, dividing the top into 3 or 4 sections with masking tape, and practicing your speed, and distance controls, and observing the finish it gives you. Once you master your sprayer you'll be amazed at what you can do.
Needless to say your paint job on this bench was fantastic.
I look forward to your next upcycle rescue.
Eric
