I shit the bed….. Well, not really, but kinda. I decided to see how much life I could bring back to a set of old L. Hitchcock dinning chairs I had hanging around. Here is some inspiration. https://beesfirstappearance.wordpress.com/2016/01/17/hitchcock/

Since I don’t have much experience, I started with research. I wasn’t even sure which product to use. The chairs were in fairly good shape, the wood was a little dry. There was some wear on the stenciled parts, but overall they were in pretty good shape.

I found some reviews of Howard brand Restor a finish. I watched several videos to see what I would need to do to make it happen! I started with this video. It is a factory video that shows how great the product works. The second video I watched was another video in a more everyday setting from Deidra over at Restless mind on Youtube. She has a real time video of how to use the product and shows how great it works and some of the product limitations. The last video I watched was from Renee Romeo. I loved that she showed the limitations and benefits. It was an honest review. The product looked easy to use.

I headed down to my local Ace Hardware store to get the supplies I needed. I bought Howard Restor a finish in Walnut, Some #000 Steal wool (they were out of #0000 as recommended), and some Feed and Wax also from Howard.

I didn’t take many pictures during the testing process, because I thought I would figure it out before I actually started sharing the process.

The chairs had a couple of spots that were the way down to the bare wood. I loved the richness that the product added to the chairs, however, it didn’t cover up the spots that were bare wood.

So, back to the hardware store I went….. I love Mountain Hardware in Blairsden CA.

I bought a minwax blend fill pencil, an Ace Staining Pad terry knit. and a small can of Old Masters Wiping Stain. (this is where I shit the bed by the way!)

Since it was extremely important for me to maintain the original character of the chairs I went to work. Wiping, cleaning and repeating. The results were acceptable, not perfect, but acceptable.

To finish I used a soft lint free cloth to seal the chairs and add a little luster. This part was fun and very rewarding.

They need to sit for 24 hours and should be good to go!

Have you tried to bring life to old furniture? Follow along as I find more items to bring a new life to as I find a new life for myself.

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