A couple of weeks ago I posted a picture of a maple chair, one of five that I bought from the Old Mill Restaurant. Laurie Sather, who made our old chairs, bought the surviving three back for what I paid for the five "new" ones. I think those have already gone to live with his daughter Rose, which pleases me.
 |
| Installation No.1 of 5: Maple Chair on Maple Floor, Backed by Maple Cabinets - Painted Yellow. |
I took fine steel-wool and mineral spirits and cleaned sixty years of gunk, glitter and wine stains from one of them. After patching some screw holes (repairs that were a little too honest), I put a light stain on the bare wood then rubbed on a couple of coats of tung oil. I think it looks pretty good, but still has a comfortable butt-worn charm to it. It's ready for another 60 years, or at least until I die.
6 comments:
So much for the patina that the boys on The Antiques Roadshow rave about.
60 years of a paste of food, liquor and body oils may be patina to some. Lorna didn't find the glitter and wine stains to be as charming as I did. I may leave some of the glitter on one, chust for purdy.
I once tried to write a story of an invention that could play back the experiences of a piece of furniture in living color and surround sound. It didn't work of course because I was in way over my head and lacked the skill to pull it off but I would like to use that invention on that chair.
I find that sometimes "patina" is just dirt.
Well,hell yes. Real patina is just rust, only on copper or bronze.
They are great sitting chairs. I spent a lot of hours testing them over the past 30 years or so.
1. Sits comfortably over time
2. Constructed to last
3.
4.
5. Good looking
In that order. Anything else to look for in a chair?
Restoring a chair sounds like fun, restoring five chairs sounds like work.
#3. Easy to restore.
Post a Comment