For years I have been staring at an old rocking chair, determined that one day I would make it new again! It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Especially when I brought my kids in and taught them How to Refinish a Chair.
Materials needed:
An old chair, bench or any other wooden structure that needs a face lift
Sand Paper
Primer
Spray Paint
Drop Cloth
I bought some sandpaper and put the kids to work. Talk about a project for them!
After it was sanded, I wiped it down with an old cloth. Then the fun part. I used an old sheet as a drop cloth, and applied 1 coat of Rust-Oleum Primer. I followed the directions on the can and used the entire thing.
After 20 minutes, I started on the paint. I used Rust-Oleum High Performance Enamel in Gloss White. I waited about 30 minutes between coats, and ended up putting 3 coats on top of the primer. Each coat used 1 full can, so make sure you have plenty before starting. I kept the chair in the garage overnight to make sure it was completely dry before moving it into it’s place on my porch. It was a Fun project and took a lot less effort than I anticipated!
Here are some Tips to a make it easier –
I had an assorted pack of 5 sheets of sandpaper, but only used 2 sheets of Medium, and 2 sheets of Fine. Had I planned better, I would have had a few more sheets of the Medium. The job would have gone quicker.
Depending on what you are sanding, you may want to wear a mask. Some old paint can contain Lead which you certainly don’t want to breathe in.
I did the primer in a light grey color just to make it easier to differentiate between the primer and the paint.
Make sure you have enough paint! I had no idea I would go through 3 cans so quickly. I would have liked to have done a 4th coat, but I ran out of paint.
Don’t attempt for full coverage with only 1 coat. When I say it will take at least 3 coats to look good, I really mean it. Don’t get discouraged after the first coat.
This is a project that is a fraction of the cost of buying a new chair. Spruce up in a day with this easy craft!
I have a chair I wanted to refinish but my hubby wants to toss it, I think it would be a lot easier than he thinks it would. I’m going to show him this hopefully I can convince him to refinsh my beloved chair.
I hope you can save it. New chairs are not made like they used to and this is cheaper and more fun!
I always forget that I need to sand first lol
Yep! The better the sanding, the better the paint job!
I have never refinished a piece of furniture but reading your post I can almost believe I can do it as well as you did. Thanks for the inspiration.
You are so welcome! you can totally do it! :)