refinishing the bench

When will I learn?! That's rhetorical by the way, as I think I am beyond help.<br /><br />Ever since I wrote about the glory that is unpainted wood furniture (<a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2013/04/au-natural.html" target="_blank">here</a>), I've had a hankering to add some, somewhere. And since I've got extra furniture three rows deep in the basement, I figured buying something wasn't the way to go.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitk5xnXWiM0q2k-VR9QyBngR5btzf6kvYimhGpVWR_nyBgrtoe7BryX3XmEdY5Lg73MGhrbVujmQbGjq_icb-wjFahq9OWrS82O6FEHt_Ub8VpKTFNrFvp8by9Trl95Wk26NlS7KNK37YO/s1600/PA300418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitk5xnXWiM0q2k-VR9QyBngR5btzf6kvYimhGpVWR_nyBgrtoe7BryX3XmEdY5Lg73MGhrbVujmQbGjq_icb-wjFahq9OWrS82O6FEHt_Ub8VpKTFNrFvp8by9Trl95Wk26NlS7KNK37YO/s640/PA300418.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Luckily I've been eyeing my church pew. I've been thinking of changing the red for some time, as I talked about <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2013/01/spin-color-wheel.html" target="_blank">here</a>, so why not go with the color it was originally meant to be anyway.<br /><br />In theory anyway.<br /><br />Quick history on the pew, it came from the small country chapel that my great-great-grandfather founded long long ago. My mom acquired it back in the early 80's when they renovated the chapel and at that time it was painted brown. <i>Why in the world would someone paint wood furniture brown?</i> That's exactly what I was thinking too! Anyway, she promptly painted it red and it has been that way ever since. The point being no one that I know knew what type of wood this was or how it would look.<br /><br />I love to solve a good mystery so I tested a little spot with my <a href="http://www.wmbarr.com/product.aspx?catid=36&prodid=63" target="_blank">Citristrip</a> just to see what I was getting into. If it looked bad I could paint that spot again or worse yet just put a pillow over it.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeON74zIMV4OovcwTbRwyPHW80RYTn3Uit_Md577AUzU2p-JriLs_WPgvD_vK2o3ahx8ISGCo4igHab5MCDf0j4snKV0WC_jw1cTn_MjhhfpyJp7iy4jYVVENBcojqYjHw5S5xnEKFk5Lu/s1600/IMG_1312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeON74zIMV4OovcwTbRwyPHW80RYTn3Uit_Md577AUzU2p-JriLs_WPgvD_vK2o3ahx8ISGCo4igHab5MCDf0j4snKV0WC_jw1cTn_MjhhfpyJp7iy4jYVVENBcojqYjHw5S5xnEKFk5Lu/s400/IMG_1312.JPG" width="296" /></a></div><br />What a tease. It was worse than Ryan Seacrest before a commercial break. It was all, oh, I'm bubbling right away, I'll come up with no problem. And the first layer did.<br /><br />That's right, I said first layer. But it was the layer, upon layer, upon layer of brown...paint/natural stain/mystery McGuyver substance that wouldn't. go. away.<br /><br />I don't really have any pictures of this phase as its hard to take a picture while banging you head but basically each day started with 'I'm sure this will be the last layer of brown goop, I can do this' and ended with 'Who in lucifer's reach made this #%$^!!!'.<br /><br />This went on for a week.<br /><br />It was the worst as it <i>looked </i>as if there wasn't any paint there but when I scraped off the Cirtristrip there was more and more dark brown goo. I never did find out what it was but I got as much off as I could.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3u7iHlKlq6zXAmC2zEqKlW3aycr8g2Oy41CF2Cx6DXIzwgKhoTuGde_DvTsd496tA1YYQFS6u04lGeYI-gDaUqh-1x69gj_CJNNFMPotQr2UZvnjbDB6V1oOso7QBhXU5Vggdq0ecm40/s1600/sandingbench.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3u7iHlKlq6zXAmC2zEqKlW3aycr8g2Oy41CF2Cx6DXIzwgKhoTuGde_DvTsd496tA1YYQFS6u04lGeYI-gDaUqh-1x69gj_CJNNFMPotQr2UZvnjbDB6V1oOso7QBhXU5Vggdq0ecm40/s640/sandingbench.jpg" width="632" /></a></div><br />I used my last bit of energy to sand and then I stopped. The bench and I needed some time apart.<br /><br />Have you ever underestimated a DIY project? Have you wanted to beat a piece of furniture? Do you have any idea what that brown goop could have been?<br /><br />Come back next week when we see how the old girl looks now.

refinishing the bench

When will I learn?! That's rhetorical by the way, as I think I am beyond help. Ever since I wrote about the glory that is unpainted wood...

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