Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Plycraft shell chair restoration part 2

I was really planning on waiting until I had a bit more to show but with Thanksgiving with the family tomorrow and having to work the store on Friday and Saturday and with the results so far, I just felt the need to get it out of my system. Won't have much time between now and Sunday to get much more accomplished.


My trusty sander and I went after the shell today with suprisingly good results. As dried out and discolored as this looked originally I was happy with how it looked after going over with both 150 and 220 paper and even the base cleaned up nicely. I thought this may be more of a challenge working around the rivets in the base but it wasn't too bad and actually cleaned the rivets up as well. Needless to say I worked this very slowly and with "kid gloves" so as not to create any further veneer problems.
Not sure of the composition of the top layer of veneer. Its think it's either teak or walnut, but definitely a bit darker wood. That made the decision to use a golden oak stain easy. It always makes this tone of wood "pop" and I was smiling when I saw the results..)))


It appears just a bit darker in the pics than in person and a bit more glossy as this was taken right after I finished staining. That said the finished piece should have about the same shine as I plan on using a semi-gloss lacquer after the stain sets up and then using lacquer burn in for the missing chips of veneer. With a bit of luck this shell should look almost new with probably more than enough little issues that no one will mistake it as some kind of knock off. To say I'm satisfied with the results so far would be a serious understatement. Amazed would probably be a better word!! Just love how this chair was made and how well it's turning out so far. Now that I have a good idea of what the shell is going to look like it's time to go fabric hunting!
Forgot to post pics of the finished "hybrid" table on the last post and these shots really don't do it any kind of justice but you can get the general feel. Hey, at least the entire table is solid wood and very sturdy and turned out pretty well. Considering the pieces have been languishing in my garage for at least a year and came from different sources I'm happy with the end result.

Wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving and will post again some time next week!


1 comment:

  1. Everything looks like it's turning out great! The taper legs look nice on that table. Can't wait to see the finished Plycraft chair. I imagine it's gonna be sweet.

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