refinishing the bench - part 2

So the bench.

When last we left our story (read part 1 here), it looked something like this.

After all the sanding was complete, and my tears were dried, I called over my mom and dad to take a look at what I was working with. After decades of refinishing furniture and selling it, they are like the experts on Antique Roadshow. I bring them things, they tell me the good/bad news and then I jump for joy or kick them out of the house, depending on their answer.

The verdict - it was determined I was looking at a piece made of at least two different types of wood. Damn you furniture!

But after a cool down period I realized/remembered that this is not a fancy piece. This is backwoods furniture y'all. The people sitting in these pews were most likely in their farmer overalls rather than suits so it was never meant to be a fine antique.

So I gave in and decided I couldn't fight an old church pew. (its probably sacrilegious or something) It will be whatever it is. After all, I have it (and love it) because of its history, not its beauty.

So all though some spots never came out, no matter how much I sanded, I decided it was time to move on and stain. Embrace the character. Embrace the character. (this is my staining the bench mantra)

And after three coats of stain and two coats of clear polyurethane here she is. Some of her red paint still shows thru (some wood 'released' the paint better than others) and I like that. It is a reminder of how it looked as I grew up and my little nod to all the years my parents had it.

Ignore that table behind the bench and those lamps, that's a whole other post.

This isn't a tutorial on refinishing (obviously) but rather just a tale to remember that not all furniture will cooperate with your plan. And sometimes that's for the best. Love what you have and it will work for you.

Have you ever had a bossy piece of furniture that wouldn't cooperate?