Strippy Chair #3 -With the DIY process!

Those that follow this blog for quite some time may remember the previous Strippy Chairs (here and here), which are one of my favourite projects to make.

Well, here it is: the third one! This time the nice solid beech wood chair from the early 60s was upholstered with some horrible leatherette, that I replaced with a selection of reclaimed boards with a nice range of brown and off white colours.

Check the pictures below and the step-by-step 'making of' process for further details, it's better than reading a boring description!

Measures: seat 36 x 36cm, 41cm high. Back rest height 84cm.

And here is the (almost) step-by-step MAKING OF process: On the left, the chair in its original state -good condition, but appalling dullness!

So, first of all, I got rid of that awful upholstery. A time consuming task with a small surprise in the form of a hidden label with the delivery adress some time in the early 60s... it was quite near my current workshop!

Then, sanding the solid beech parts that had been covered by the upholstery, till they were as smooth and clean as the rest of the structure.

I filled the little (billion) holes left by the staples with wood putty, then sanded again -And made a template of the shape of the seat with a piece of thick cardboard.

Preparing the old skirting boards (select, clean, take the nails out, sand..) and cutting them following the template.

Dry fitting the boards (the last one to cut to shape was the white narrow one) -And painting the back rest in an off white tone to match the rest of the palette.

Distressing the back rest, once the paint was dry. Fixing the boards to the structure to make the 'new' seat. I used a very strong adhesive to avoid nails, thus all those clamps.

Rounding and smoothing the edges of the seat to create a seamless transition between the boards and the structure of the chair.

Filling all the gaps with wood putty, then sanding again -and, finally, sealing the whole chair with several coats of clear varnish. I also polished it with very fine steel wool (not shown, but you surely get the idea).