DIY Chair Flip

Bringing another furniture piece back to life and saving it from the landfill!

I found this chair at the side of the road following an estate sale at a home in my neighborhood last year. I knew it needed some work, but thought it had a lot of potential. After I got started with the project I realized it needed even more work than I was anticipating…so basically an average furniture flip!!

I neglected to take a good before picture (making a mental note to improve on this), but I began as I usually do by giving the piece a really good cleaning with Krud Krutter-my favorite cleaner for furniture flips! As I was cleaning I realized that the chair had three large cracks in the seat, one went all the way through so the chair was essentially split down the middle; like I said more work than anticipated!! After cleaning the piece I got to work fixing these large cracks; I like to use a combination of wood glue and Bondo to fix cracks like these and it did the trick! I applied wood glue along all the three cracks and then applied a clamp for added pressure. I let this dry overnight and then applied Bondo to all three cracks using a q-tip like tool to apply the Bondo in between the cracked areas and wiping off any excess on the top and bottom as I went. I then re-applied the clamps and let the Bondo set for 24 hours.

Time to Sand

After the repairs had set I was left with a chair that badly needed some refinishing. As you can see here:

The previous finish on the chair was in really bad shape and quite literally flaking off so I didn’t use any furniture stripper as I typically would. After starting the sanding process I realized that I needed to do more sanding than I had originally thought so using the stripper first definitely would have saved me time, but oh well! I sanded with 60 grit, 180 grit, and 220 grit to get a good finish for painting. This also ensured that any excess Bondo was sanded off, even with painting the Bondo can leave an uneven/shiny finish that won’t blend with the rest of the piece so you want to ensure that any excess has been sanded off.

Painting Begins

After sanding with the 60, 180, and 220 grit sandpaper I applied my primer. My favorite primer for furniture pieces is the Zinsser 1-2-3 Bullseye primer for all surfaces! I applied one coat of this and after letting it dry for an hour followed it with a light sanding with 400 grit sand paper. I then applied three layers of paint in the color Wave Top by Behr-light sanding with 400 grit paper in between coats. I then sealed the piece with two layers of top coat-Behr poly-urethane in a semi-gloss finish and she was done!!

My biggest tips/takeaways:

Don’t sleep on freebies on the side of the road. Don’t get me wrong they typically require some serious sweat equity but solid pieces like this can really shine with a bit of polish! I would avoid pieces made from particle board though!!
Don’t skimp on the light 400 grit sanding between coats, it really helps you get the best finish for your piece!
Sometimes less can be more. I considered applying mutli-colored polka dot appliques to this chair as I was envisioning this piece in a child’s bedroom or playroom but decided against it (with the help of an IG poll) and it was the right call. I was always planning to sell this piece, and to appeal to the most buyers you want to stray away from niche finishes.