How to clean & restore timber chair?

Question

Hi, I received this lovely chair and would like to restore it to the the wood finish (but open to painting it yellow if needed). I am a total newbie to any sort of DIY. It looks like the chair was used outside but im intending to use it as a dinning chair.

The yellow paint has been sanded off in certain places already, so I'm thinking to just continue sanding? Sanding the legs will be lots of work. Do I sasand all the way down to the lightlightest shade?

There's a dark mark in the seat that I'm worried might be water damage - is there anything special i can/should do for it?

Also do I need to be worried about the wood ?splitting.

Thanks in advance!

blursquid · Answer

Hi @MitchellMc , sorry this project is on the backburner at the moment as I am trying to do repairs & repainting walls… Will update how the chair goes, when(if?) I get around to it (:

MitchellMc · Answer

Hi @blursquid,

I was wondering how your chair restoration project is progressing.

Did you end up stripping the paint back to a natural timber finish, or did you decide to go with a fresh coat of paint instead? It would be great to hear which approach you chose and how the chair is looking now.

If you've finished the restoration, we'd love to see a few photos of the result. Before-and-after shots are always popular with the community and can inspire other members thinking about tackling a furniture restoration project of their own.

Mitchell

JacobZ · Answer

Hi @blursquid,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is wonderful to have you with us.

That's a really nice find. I am excited to see you bring it back to its former glory.

As the initial goal is to get back to a natural wood finish, there are two main ways you can go about removing the remaining paint. You can continue sanding the chair, which is probably the simplest approach for a beginner, or you could use a paint stripper, which can make removing paint from the legs and other awkward areas much quicker.

Paint stripper could seem a bit scary, but trust me, it is not too difficult to use, and it can make the job much quicker and more enjoyable. If you do use a paint stripper, make sure you follow the product instructions carefully, do it in a well-ventilated area and wear your protective equipment such as gloves and a mask. You'll apply the stripper as per the instructions, wait for the reaction to take place, then use a scraping tool such as this

https://www.bunnings.com.au/pro-renovator-50mm-plastic-scraper_p1660092

to scrape away the paint. If there is still significant paint after this, you can repeat the stripping process if necessary. This will remove the vast majority of the paint, at which point you can follow up with some light sanding to refine the surface and remove whatever paint is left over. Use a medium grit sandpaper such as 120-grit to remove the remaining paint and follow up with some 180-grit to make the surface perfect for finishing.

If you decide to sand the chair, start with 80-grit sandpaper to remove the paint. This will be the bulk of the work and can be time consuming, so wherever possible, you might consider using a powered tool such as an orbital sander or detail sander to speed up the process. Once most of the paint is gone, move to 120-grit to smooth out the scratches left by the coarser paper, then finish with 180-grit for a nice smooth surface. Don't worry too much about trying to achieve a particular shade. It will become obvious when you've reached the original timber because the colour will stop changing as you continue sanding.

The dark mark on the seat may be an old water stain, but I wouldn't do anything special with it until all of the paint has been removed and sanding has been finished. Often these marks look different once the chair has been fully stripped back, and you'll be in a much better position to judge whether it needs any further treatment, which we can certainly help with if you are concerned at this stage.

Now the surface is sanded, make sure to brush it to remove any remaining sawdust before coating it with your choice of paint, oil, wax or varnish depending on the finish you are looking for. If you had any questions about finishes, please let me know and I can certainly assist further.

Check out

https://www.bunnings.com.au/diy-advice/diy-skills/repairing/how-to-restore-wooden-furniture

and How to Upcycle furniture for some further guidance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPcRJIRC8OQ

Let me know what you think and if you've got further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob