I recently picked up this antique pew chair from Jamie and Andy as I drove through Nashville. Jamie has had it for a long time, and I suppose she had trouble parting with it. Their house is small, and it doesn’t really match her décor at the present time. It’s been stored in their garage for a few months since she got her vintage dining table.
A recent phone conversation with jamie went something like this:
- jamie-what are you going to do with the pew chair?
- me-I suppose I’ll just paint it and sell it.
- jamie-I miss that chair
- me-I suppose I could paint it and use it in my kitchen.
- jamie-I hate to see it painted white
- me-it’s just paint, and that way it would stay in the family and you can have it back when you have a place to put it.
- jamie-no real response from her, and then the subject got changed.
One day last week, we had a really nice day, and I couldn’t figure out what to do for the day. I wanted something I could start and finish in one day because we were having a heat wave set in.
I got out the chair and started working on it.
It IS such a unique piece, that I decided maybe I shouldn’t paint it white.
I do not know what kind of wood it is, nor do I have a clue what kind of finish was on it. Being very old, I’m sure it had a couple of coats of something on it. I used Zip Strip, and the old finish came off really easy. However, I ran out of it.
So I started sanding, and sanding, and sanding. I was getting nowhere FAST!
You can see that I still had all the bottom portion to do. I didn’t want to spend time and effort on sanding those legs.
I made a run to The Home Depot to pick up some more stripper. They don’t carry the Zip Strip, so I got this Citristrip that I’ve heard a lot of people use.
It’s not really for impatient people. It states you need to wait 30 minutes to remove the gunk. (up to 24 hours) Nope, not waiting 24 hours-I needed this project done today! I don’t have any “in progress” pics because when you have gunk covered gloves on you can’t really pick up the camera to take pics.
After removing the stripper, I wiped the entire chair down with odorless mineral spirits.
Then I sanded it all over to get a smooth surface.
While at The Home Depot, I picked up some new stain. Because the chair had been very dark, I decided to stain it with Ebony from Minwax.
Here it is with two light coats of stain on it.
I applied a coat of Wipe-On Poly (satin).
It’s not as dark as it was, but I hope you love it Jamie!
It’s a fun chair, that has now found a new home in my kitchen.
I’m not a fan of stripping furniture, can you tell me your secret? What do you use?
Have you ever seen a chair like this?
gail
find more great chair projects here:
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Meari
That is a really cool chair! Instead of stripper, I use furniture refinisher. It takes the finish off but leaves the character of the wood.
the girlfriend gap
I like strip x stripper it is clear. You can buy it at Walmart. Sometimes I have used the citrus stuff but felt like it left an orange glow on the wood . Use lots of coarse steel wool after scraping off the gook with a putty knife. I just bought a chair like this just a little bit different style and thought perhaps it was an antique pew chair but didn't know for sure. Just knew I couldn't leave the store without it! I have been wondering whether to paint it or leave it natural the finish is not so bad . Thanks for sharing. Yours looks great! Also like to use tongue oil for the final seal on things I refinish. It is easy to get a nice smooth finish because you rub it on with a cloth
Anonymous
Soy Gel from http://www.franmar.com. It's safe and earth friendly. You do have to wait for it to work.
Stephanie
At first when I looked at the chair I didn't think of it as a pew chair. But DUH! Now I see the back of the chair and get it. I like vintage pieces painted or stained, sorry Jamie. This one turned out so beautiful, great choice on the finish, it looks so much more fresh and yet still vintage.
Proper Prim
Oh I am so happy you listened to Jamie... it is such an unique piece. Love what you did to it Gail... it looks so handsome now. Great job.
Hope you have a fun day planned for the 4th.
Hugs,
Deb
P.S. wait until see what you friend has done this week... she is amazing. xo
melissa @ daisymaebelle.com
Love this chair! I am always painting furniture, but it is so nice to see a stained piece!
Corn in my Coffee-Pot
As impatient as you are...and they want you to wait! What are they thinking. I guess it worked pretty fast... you had good things to say about the product.
I'm surprised that you aren't using your camera in the zippered baggie technique...I always tell people about that and give you the credit! You forgot to put the camera in a baggie didn't you?!
As to the chair. I like it. Everything about it. The style, the pocket on the back... and the color of the stain. I think it looks just dark enough, and very fresh!
I know Jamie will love it. ...and Yes. I've seen a chairs like this, at the old church we used to attend when I was a child. They used them in the choir loft. The pocket was for song books, if my memory serves me! (long time ago...)
have a good one. Pat
Pam Jackson
Lovely.....love the dark brown.
Steph
You did a beautiful job of refinishing the chair Gail. For this one I'm glad you did the extra work and stained it. I have found that if you cover up your stripping agent with plastic it works better and it doesn't dry out, it also will go through more than one layer of paint this way. I just use whatever plastic I have and I've never had any trouble with the stripper eating through the plastic.
Suzanne@Meridian Road
No, I haven't ever seen a chair like that before, and it's gorgeous! I'm glad you stained it, although I'm usually a paint girl. I hate stripping furniture, which is why I'm a paint girl. 🙂 I like zip strip the best, though. Citri strip smells good, but it's not fast.
Brown Dirt Cottage
I found this MOST interesting! I always like seeing how others do 'their thing!'
Funny though, I too was strippin' and re-doing my dining table top yesterday and this morning. I did a post over on my blog just a sec ago. I mainly have a quilting blog, but my one true LOVE is re-doing old 'stuff n things'....
I do love your blog and loiter and lurk quite often!!!
Full Circle Creations
Your chair looks great! Love the ebony stain. It's one of my new favorites.
Holly
Toqua's Crafts
GORGEOUS!
I agree whole heartedly with Jamie; I do not like painted antiques.
I have never seen a chair like this. I LOVE IT!
As you know... I'm an (electric) sanding kind of girl, whereas my husband is a stripping kind of guy. LOL If I did a LOT of that kind of stuff I could probably be easily talked into being a stripping kind of gal. I'm not sure I could do the Citristrip though. (It just "smells" of fragrance in the name, and I'm allergic to "fragrance".)
The denatured alcohol and Murphy's Oil Soap comments above sound like good suggestions!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that pew chair!!
Sandi @ The Primitive Skate
Wow! Love how the chair turned out. I never stripped furniture before...so I can't help you there. Looks like you got some wonderful tips to try from other Bloggers! Have a wonderful 4th!
sandraallen260@centurytel.net
Shannon
This is gorgeous! I love painted furniture and agree that some things just need paint. But, if I can save something with stripping and restaining, I prefer that!
GREAT JOB!
Cassie @ Primitive & Proper
that is a lot of work.... so sweet!
✿ⒹⒺⒺ✿@ A Lapin Life
I love the difference! The chair is beautiful now.
I hate stripping furniture but I do do it. I need to strip kitchen chairs that I keep putting off.
Dee
Anne
Hmmm odorless mineral spirits??! Clearly I've been shopping in the wrong place! I'll have to look for that next time I'm out. Love the chair, hate stripping - that's why chalk paint is my bff!!
lol
Sharon @ Elizabeth & Co.
No secrets here, definitely not a fan of stripping furniture. I guess I am too impatient. But that chair turned out beautifully! I love the rich color. It was definitely worth the effort!
I Play Outside The Box
First off....I LOVE painted furniture!!!! With that being said...I believe you made the right choice in finishing this beauty the way you did. It is just beautiful!!!
Jamie@OwlReally.com
hey!! it looks great!!! thanks for not painting it. 🙂 you know how i am about painted antiques. 🙂 love it! looks like you also fixed its wonkiness! it's such a great chair! thanks!!!
and i hate citristrip. that's what i used on our kitchen window trim and it was awful.
Joani
Love the chair. I'm sort of addicted to older chairs. Sometimes, if they've been painted, I just leave it for the character. Thanks for sharing. Have a great week.
Terri
This turned out GORGEOUS...I love that you stained instead of painting (although, that would have been cute too!) This just gives it a more "grown up" look! I need to get some of that Ebony, love how it looks but have never had the nerve to give it a go myself. Great job!
I have never had great luck with the Citristrip either. I am also impatient, but even if I let it sit a long time...it just seems to dry up and not remove the finish well. Sounds like I missed the boat on this Zip Strip stuff...let me know if anyone tells you about a new miracle "stripper"!
galegal
You did a great job on the chair. I'm sure Jamie will love it. Who wouldn't?
In the future when working on a really old unpainted piece you may be able to save yourself a lot of work by testing it first to see if it has a shellac finish. These are usually the pieces you find with that alligator finish or white rings where a wet glass sat. Get some denatured alcohol. Put a drop on the surface and watch to see if it disolves the finish. If so, you've hit the refinishing jackpot! You do need to work on a very dry day or in an overheated room in winter but by just brushing on the alcohol with a clean brush you can re-amalgamate the shellac. If the piece is very dirty you may want to use soft steel wool with the alcohol to remove a layer of the grunge and follow with a wipe with paper towel or clean lint free cloth to remove the excess alcohol. If a haze forms on the surface it is from too much humidity in the air. You can either brush on another light coat of alcohol and wipe it off quickly or rub with fine steel wool to remove the haze. When you like the way it looks, put on a coat of a modern finish such as clear poly or you can paint it if you must. The remaining shellac will work as a great primer and sealer.
I got this tip from George Grotz in 'The Furniture Doctor' many years ago. Funny book with some great tips.
Jen
The pew chair looks great! I just ran to Home Depot this last weekend also after running out of Zip Strip and found they no longer carry it. That was my favorite stripper! I ended up with Kleen Strip Premium stripper and you only wait 15 minutes. It worked pretty well but I still miss Zip Strip.
Cheryl
With OLD pieces of oak and such that have not been painted but have that gummy, crackled finish hardened on the surface I have had success with straight Murphy's Oil Soap. The surface you are cleaning needs to be horizontal. Pour on the Murphy's Oil Soap using gloves getting it into all the nooks and crannies. Leave on for about 30 minutes and use an old tooth brush to circle scrub the Murphy's Oil Soap. The gummy old finish should come up. Wipe off and continue the piece. You can wipe with a wet rag or if you were able to "Murphy" the entire piece you can spray it off with the water hose or shower sprayer all at one time after scrubbing. At this point you can see the original finish and stain. What you removed was the buildup of wax and polish and grime. You will then be able to determine if you need to really stip the old finish off. Cheap and easy and be sure to use gloves with straight Murphy's Oil Soap as it feels good on your hands today but in a day or so you have hands that will peel.
Christine
Very unique piece of furniture!!! Great job!