If in case your dining chairs are looking dull and have faded away, you can simply give them a new life again by the process of refinishing. To perform the refinishing process, you first need to eliminate the already present stain & then give it a refinishing touch & make it look amazing & attractive. As compared to tables, chairs can take more time to refinish due to the reason that chairs are not straight, flat slabs of wood. Each & every side of the slats in the back, the arms, as well as the rungs below the chair, essentially need stripping, sanding, and staining process.
Step By Step Procedure & Items Needed To Refinish Oak Dining Chairs
If you have an old oak dining chair at your home & you want to refinish it in order to make it look brand new, you can do so very easily. You simply need to collect certain items to perform this task & then go through the step by step procedure carefully:
Items Needed
- Drop Cloths, Rubber Mallet & Gloves
- Dust Mask, Goggles & Chemical Paint Stripper
- Paint Brush, Rag & Paint Scraper
- Sandpaper & Mineral Spirits
- Stain & Polyurethane
Step By Step Procedure
- First of all, you have to look for a place that is having good ventilation or you can work outside. Then position drop cloths & keep the dining chair on the drop cloth.
- Now, eliminate the fabric-covered seat inserts, if present in the oak dining chairs. Rotate the chairs over and propel the seats out from the base of the chair. Tap smoothly around the base edges of the seat insert with the help of a rubber mallet in order to free the seat from the chair. Set the seats to one side.
- Next, for the safety purpose, you need to use the gloves, a dust mask, and goggles. Then spread a chemical paint stripper from the top to the base of the chair, painting it with the help of a paintbrush or rubbing it thoroughly with a rag. Make the chemical stripper to sit on the wood till the outer layer becomes smooth.
- After that, eliminate the chemical stripper and the already present finish by brushing it with a small paint scraper. In order to get the best results, you need to follow the wood grain. Sand away any small sections of finish that don't come off easily with the paint scraper. Repeat the same procedure with the other chairs.
- Cleanse the oak chairs with water or mineral spirits, then give the chairs at least 24 hours to dry completely. The wood sucks up water, so it needs time to dry completely before staining it.
- Paint the chair with the first layer of stain with the help of a paintbrush but make sure to paint in the wood grain direction, or rub the stain into the wood with a piece of cloth. Give it a few minutes in order to dry completely, then mop away the excess stain with a rag. As soon as the stain dries completely, add more coats for an extensive color.
- Finally, apply clear polyurethane coat to the chair with the help of a paintbrush as soon as the stain dries completely. Make the polyurethane dry fully. Then Sand the polyurethane moderately before painting with a second coat of polyurethane.