Having antiques in your home doesn’t have to be expensive. If you are doing minor repair work, this is not necessary. Consider Jordan Slocum and Barry Bordelon, known as the Brownstone Boys.
“If you’re getting a piece that someone has already spent a lot of time and effort restoring, it’s going to be expensive,” said Bordelon, 43. Because they have been restored, they are available for much less. we do it well. ”
The Brooklyn-based designers, whose new book “For the Love of Renovating” will be published next month, are working on a series of projects along Atlantic Avenue in vintage shops, architectural salvage yards and even piles of trash on sidewalks. Even in the middle of the day, I’m always looking for it.
“I’m lucky to live in New York, where slouching is the norm,” said Slocum, 41.
They recently rescued a wooden side chair from the curb with a damaged seat and sloppy paint. To restore it, they employed many of the same techniques they use for historic brownstone woodwork.
remove paint
First, remove any upholstery you don’t plan on storing so you can work on the wood frame. Next, use a heat gun on the old paint and scrape off as much as possible with a metal paint scraper.
“We heat the paint and then we scrape it off,” Bordelon says. (Be careful not to burn the chair.)
“That would remove most of the paint,” he continued. “It will come off in chunks, but it will leave a mark.”
To deal with sticky paint, use a liquid paint stripper like CitriStrip. Spread it generously with a paintbrush, but be patient.
“Let it sit for at least five to 10 minutes,” Slocum says. “And assess how it’s chipping away.”
Work in stubborn areas with steel wool and wipe with a cloth.
sandwich
Now that most of the paint is off, spray the chair with denatured alcohol and rub it with more steel wool to remove any residue. Next, sand the entire chair to remove any remaining paint spots and refresh the wood surface.
“We want to be very thorough with our logs,” Slocum said.
Start with coarse sandpaper (perhaps 80 grit) and work your way up to finer sandpaper, eventually ending up with 400 grit. Brownstone Boys sometimes uses an electric sander, but Slocum said it’s often easier to fill in curves and gaps by hand with regular sandpaper.
“If I need to add a little more force to the furniture, I sometimes tape it to a block of wood,” he says.
Stay It
With the bare wood exposed, add the stain of your choice. The Brownstone Boys wiped the Varatan Early American stains off the chairs with cheesecloth.
For even coloring, Slocum says, “You have to work with the grain.”
After the stain was dry, I sanded the chair again to smooth out any raised particles.
Please select an alternative seat
Cloth seats are always a good option, but Slocum and Bordelon felt they were ambitious. Then I noticed that the chair had a groove around the seat, so I decided to use some prescane webbing that I bought on Amazon instead of fabric.
If you want to attach the cane to the seat, cut it a little larger than you need and soak it in water for about 20 minutes.
“This is more than just application, it also helps remove unwanted stiffness,” Slocum said.
Using a wooden wedge or screen rolling tool, drive the end of the cane into the groove and trim off the excess. To hold the cane webbing in place, add wood glue and lead splines (continuous strips of material that fill in gaps).
finish it
Add a clear coat to complete the repair. Brownstone Boys applied Varathane matte polyurethane. Slocum says it’s best to use a fresh paintbrush or cloth to avoid brushstrokes.
One coat was enough for their chairs. However, if the finish appears uneven or you want better protection, additional coatings can be applied.
Now all you need to do is decide where to place your new furniture.
“We’re going to have it in our office,” Slocum said.
But the chair could end up in a home that someone else renovates, he added. “Then they will be able to enjoy this chair for the next 100 years.”
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