Project rocking chair

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fried_daddy

New User
MJ
My wife found this rocking chair at a thrift store for $20. It appears to be pretty old, or just worn out to look old. We are planning on restoring it and refinishing it. So far we have just sanded what was left of the old finish off. I'm not sure if that was the proper way to remove it or not. Any feedback on the technique for that is welcome. Here are a few pics of the chair. It also needs the screw holes filled in from what I can see. I'm guessing they used wood filler in them.









 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
It looks pretty good for an old chair and $20 so you folks are off to a good start. I'd take some boiled linseed oil (BLO), dilute it with mineral spirits (1:1), and slosh it on. Let that sit for about 30 minutes and thoroughly wipe it off with rags again and again (those used rags go outside because spontaneous combustion = fire).

Put a few more coats on with the wipe on/wipe off. How does it look after that?

Don't worry about the screws at this point.
 

Fishbucket

Joe
Senior User
Nice find !

I could use one of those.

The holes are going to show no matter what you do. Its character. I think a scraper might have been better than sanding. You could see it remove the old finish and would be good enough to apply a refinish.
Boiled linseed oil would give it a lot of life, but it's not a quick finish. It requires drying and a few applications. ( Google for directions)
A tung oil "finish" will give it a nice hard coat surface. But still will take a few days for drying and adding coats.
Which I think the chair deserves for being a possible Family heirloom.
Good luck. And keep posting pictures.
 

Bill Clemmons

Bill
Corporate Member
Refinishing old/used furniture is how I got my start/interest in woodworking. It's a great way to learn some basic skills, as well as pick up some tips on how furniture is made. Would love to see pics of the chair once you get it all finished.
 

fried_daddy

New User
MJ
It looks pretty good for an old chair and $20 so you folks are off to a good start. I'd take some boiled linseed oil (BLO), dilute it with mineral spirits (1:1), and slosh it on. Let that sit for about 30 minutes and thoroughly wipe it off with rags again and again (those used rags go outside because spontaneous combustion = fire).

Put a few more coats on with the wipe on/wipe off. How does it look after that?

Don't worry about the screws at this point.
Let me correct myself! We got the chair for $12. I thought it was $20 but I was quickly reminded that we only paid $12 for it, which makes it even better!!

I went to the store today and got linseed oil, mineral spirits and tung oil!


Nice find !

I could use one of those.

The holes are going to show no matter what you do. Its character. I think a scraper might have been better than sanding. You could see it remove the old finish and would be good enough to apply a refinish.
Boiled linseed oil would give it a lot of life, but it's not a quick finish. It requires drying and a few applications. ( Google for directions)
A tung oil "finish" will give it a nice hard coat surface. But still will take a few days for drying and adding coats.
Which I think the chair deserves for being a possible Family heirloom.
Good luck. And keep posting pictures.
I will probably end up going with the tung oil finish if it's the most durable. What should the prep for application be? Is it ok to tung it as it is or should the rest of the old paint be sanded off. If so, what grit should the chair be sanded to for the best results?
Refinishing old/used furniture is how I got my start/interest in woodworking. It's a great way to learn some basic skills, as well as pick up some tips on how furniture is made. Would love to see pics of the chair once you get it all finished.
I will be posting progress pics in this thread. I hope to learn alot from this and future projects. Then eventually start building complicated stuff from scratch.

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fried_daddy

New User
MJ
I found instructions online that say to sand the chair to a 180 - 220 grit finish for tung oil. Does this sound about right?

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Fishbucket

Joe
Senior User
Yeah, 220 grit finish will make the Tung Oil finish the smoothest.
and you really need to get all the old finish off. If not it will/ might come out blochy. Take your time, Prep is 99% of the finish.
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
A few points that might be useful as you get started. The chair is nothing more than an old chair needing a little TLC and refurbishment so I wouldn't get overly hung-up about A-Z refinishing it so that it looks like a brand new heirloom to be.

1. Sand a bit more with 80, 100, 120 grit if you wish but don't stress over it-you'll never get all of the nooks and crannies. A rocking chair has almost zero flat spots for sanding/scraping, etc.

2. Sand/prep the underside of the seat like you've done to the visible parts topside. Try a few coats of your oil finish on a portion of the seat bottom and see how it looks and feels to you and your wife.

3.
It also needs the screw holes filled in from what I can see. I'm guessing they used wood filler in them
Leave them alone entirely.

BTW, Formy's Tung Oil Finish and Watco Danish Oil Finish are marketing terms that have little to do with what is actually in them. They're both made to look like a true tung oil finish while most don't contain tung oil per se.

Here are few of the real deal products for your information:

https://www.waterlox.com

https://www.realmilkpaint.com/shop/oils/pure-tung-chinawood/
 

fried_daddy

New User
MJ
Yeah, 220 grit finish will make the Tung Oil finish the smoothest.
and you really need to get all the old finish off. If not it will/ might come out blochy. Take your time, Prep is 99% of the finish.
Currently in the sanding process. Flat parts are no issue at all but it takes longer to get the round parts, especially where they meet flat.

A few points that might be useful as you get started. The chair is nothing more than an old chair needing a little TLC and refurbishment so I wouldn't get overly hung-up about A-Z refinishing it so that it looks like a brand new heirloom to be.

1. Sand a bit more with 80, 100, 120 grit if you wish but don't stress over it-you'll never get all of the nooks and crannies. A rocking chair has almost zero flat spots for sanding/scraping, etc.

2. Sand/prep the underside of the seat like you've done to the visible parts topside. Try a few coats of your oil finish on a portion of the seat bottom and see how it looks and feels to you and your wife.

3.
Leave them alone entirely.

BTW, Formy's Tung Oil Finish and Watco Danish Oil Finish are marketing terms that have little to do with what is actually in them. They're both made to look like a true tung oil finish while most don't contain tung oil per se.

Here are few of the real deal products for your information:

https://www.waterlox.com

https://www.realmilkpaint.com/shop/oils/pure-tung-chinawood/
That's a great idea to try the underside first. In the back of my mid, I knew to do this but for somereason I didn't think about doing it when I start the finish.

For a future project I may order some of that real stuff. Thanks for the links. I will make sure to bookmark them.
 

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
For the round parts cut 1/2 or 1/4 inch wide strips of cloth backed sand paper and use to buff around the round part.
 

fried_daddy

New User
MJ
I'm halfway finished sanding with the 100 grit paper! I should be finished with the other half within a week. Then it'll be on to upping my grit for a smoother finish.

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Roy G

Roy
Senior User
That Forby's Tung Oil Finish is a wiping varnish. It will give a surface finish and make your final piece shinier. The Boiled Linseed oil finish will soak into the wood and leave a softer look that won't build up on the surface. Try them both and see which one you like. The best filler I have found is to mix sanding dust from the project with wood glue to make a paste and force that into the defect. Then sand it off very diligently. And I would recommend you get sterated sandpaper which won't load up as quickly as plain sandpaper will with the old finish you are removing. Good luck.

Roy G
 

fried_daddy

New User
MJ
That Forby's Tung Oil Finish is a wiping varnish. It will give a surface finish and make your final piece shinier. The Boiled Linseed oil finish will soak into the wood and leave a softer look that won't build up on the surface. Try them both and see which one you like. The best filler I have found is to mix sanding dust from the project with wood glue to make a paste and force that into the defect. Then sand it off very diligently. And I would recommend you get sterated sandpaper which won't load up as quickly as plain sandpaper will with the old finish you are removing. Good luck.

Roy G
Thanks for the tips Roy. I'm leaning towards the Forby's finish as of right now. That may change though when finish time comes around. Going to use the bottom of the seat as a test point.

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fried_daddy

New User
MJ
I was able to get started on the finish today. I covered 1/2 of the chair with Forby's. I will finish the other half tomorrow, then go over the entire chair with fine steel wool as recommended on the can after 12 hrs. After that, I plan on applying several more coats to see how it does with each additional coat.



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Roy G

Roy
Senior User
Looking good. One thing you will find out is that the left-over finish will tend to set up in the can. My first can of Tung oil finish polymerized before I could get to my next project. Now I buy Bloxygen to put in the can after I open it up. Check it out at Klingspor's.

Roy G
 

CrealBilly

New User
Jeff
I was able to get started on the finish today. I covered 1/2 of the chair with Forby's. I will finish the other half tomorrow, then go over the entire chair with fine steel wool as recommended on the can after 12 hrs. After that, I plan on applying several more coats to see how it does with each additional coat.



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Nice job there FD - hand sanding just totally sucks, i try and avoid it at all costs but you did that 12.00 rocker up right, great job man.
 
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