Staining Wood

Happy Monday, everyone!  I love Mondays.  If only it were 70 degrees instead of mid 80's so it would feel more fall-ish.  Saturday I went running at 1pm and it was 90 degrees.  I was all like "hey, it's October.  Who cares what the weather man says.  It won't be hot."  Then I was so ticked off when I got home because I almost died of heat exhaustion.  Then I watched General Conference with the babe and hubs so it got all better (of course I laid there in a puddle of sweat because I couldn't move -- the heat exhaustion).  But alas, it's not going to be cool today either so maybe I'll take the babe to the pool.  Anyway, I wanted to share my first "major" upholstery project with you today and give some tips on refinishing wood.  And if that wasn't an awesome segue, I don't know what is.

Before

After

The absolute best thing about this chair is that I got it for $2 at a garage sale.  I know, you can't believe it, right?  I wouldn't either if I hadn't been there!

I'm so sorry that I don't have pictures of the process but I'm going to explain the best I can and keep it brief.

1. I started by sanding the wood.  If I had it to do over I would have stripped the wood because sanding took a long time and didn't get all the other varnish off so when it was finished it was two toned.

2. After sanding I washed it with a wet rag to get the dust off.

3. Then I stained it a very dark brown that I got at Lowe's.

4. When it was the color I wanted, I spray painted a polyurethane finish on it to give it the shine.  After the first coat, I sanded, then sprayed another coat and sanded.  I think I did it about 4 times to get the smooth feel like a professional piece of furniture might have.  If you only do it once the wood feels very splintery.  I used fine grit sand paper but the guy at Lowe's told me to use steel wool to sand, then another guy that was there when he said it found me in the parking lot and told me to use sand paper not steel wool.  I have no idea why.  Sorry I can't be more helpful.

5. I stapled the upholstery and hot glued the piping and it was done (I'll do a tutorial on the upholstery in a couple of weeks with another chair I just got).

Linking up at the great Linky parties found at the bottom of the blog.  They are where I find most of my inspiration!  Check them out!

plus

Coastal Charm - Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesday

Bunny Jeans Decor and More - The Bunny Hop

My Repurposed Life - Catch as Catch Can Party

Debbiedoos - Newbie Party
2805 - Potpourri Friday