Need advice restoring old oak chairs

10 years ago

Can these chairs be saved? They have been in a basement for over 20 years. I know they're not worth anything but they were our dining chairs growing up. I would really like to save them. Three look like the first picture and are not in too bad of shape. THe fourth one has some splits in the seat. Can anyone point me in the right direction as to the best way to refinish these or be honest and say it's a lost cause....dh wants to toss them..... any advice would be appreciated.

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Comments (6)

kleigh9
Original Author
10 years ago
Here is a pic of the back of the worst chair....
barryv_gw
10 years ago
The splits in the seat can be glued and clamped and should be fine. The finish may be slightly harder, or very difficult. I would try a small can of Formby refinisher to see if you can just dissolve the finish without having to use a stripper and sanding.Formby. If that works, you can apply your choice of finish, though a spray can will be easier than a brush due to the back splats. Stepping and sanding would be too much work
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User
10 years ago
Never tried Formby's products, but the description of that product makes me think it will not work well on those chairs due to the degradation of the finish on them. Might be worth a try, but I see hand sanding as the last step anyway. Might just try that first and save some money.

Sanding needs only to remove the crud and loose finish. Unless you want to change the color, sanding and refinishing will work well.

The splits should be repairable, but the seat(s) should be removed to clamp. Any experienced woodworker or cabinet shop could do that fairly easily and inexpensively.
klem1
10 years ago
"Can these chairs be saved? "

Yes but the methods and how far you are willing go depend on your determination and experience. If they were chairs from my childhood I would put more effort into them than they will sell for. If you have more determination than experience here's what I reccomend. Useing fine steel wool,sandpaper and/or plastic scrub pads,thourly scrub clean with mineral spirits then apply 3 to 5 coats of oil base wipe-on finish. The split seat will require disassembly,reglue and reassembly before finishing.
kleigh9
Original Author
10 years ago
"More determination than experience" -- yes that describes me perfectly. These chairs are all I have from my childhood farm so yes, I am willing to work for it. I do have mineral spirits and steel wool so I will start there. Thanks - I needed to know it isn't hopeless!
bobismyuncle
10 years ago
Lots of work, stripping , repairing, sanding and finishing in all those concave areas of the back. Lots of work. You might look at having them professionally refinished. I can spray a coat of finish on a chair like that in less than two minutes and brush one on in an hour.