Little Red

So, is anyone else out there, like a HUGE fan of the show "American Pickers"??!!!  'Cause I am!  It comes on the History channel every Monday night.  These two guys drive around the country in a cool Mercedes van digging through people's junks lookin' for what they call "Rusty Gold." 

Justin and I don't miss a single episode.

So, when the chance to pick through a local barn arose, we were there!  If you ever go pickin' through a barn, please note a few things:

1.  Be prepared for heat.

2.  Bring a flashlight.

3.  Don't bring your kids.

4.  Bring cash in small bills.

5.  Be prepared to spend some time.

6.  Don't bring your kids.

Because we weren't really prepared by following any of the above tips, our trip didn't last long.  But I did find a really cool treasure:

Okay, I'm not sure if you can really tell, but this is actually a child's chair.  You'll see.

Hello there!

This little red chair was just so cute!  But man, it was in rough shape.  There was some cracking, lots of chipped paint, and lots of dirt.  It actually kind of looked cool as it was, but I just had to make a project of it!

I wanted to do things the right way.  I stripped the paint down.  I know, you are probably thinking I was crazy to do that.  I have never done something like that either.  If you do it, please be very careful.  Read the instructions carefully.  Have a bucket or water hose close by...just in case.  ;)  I actually found a can of spray stripper.  It was $5 and the can got me through the chair.  The paint melted right off!  But I did fail when I didn't make sure to have chemical-resistant gloves on.  I went through a few pairs of gloves, and had to run to wash my hands several times 'cause my hands started to feel tingly.  Other than that, things went well.

Something else I realized later...probably shoulda worn a mask.  There is a good chance that red paint was lead paint.

All naked:

I can tell a lot of love went into making this chair by hand.  I can also tell that this chair is very very old!  I wish I knew more about where it came from...

Oh, I did sand it, too.  Annoying, but I felt it was necessary to do this right.

Next, priming it.

Remember, shake the can for at least 3 minutes, and you won't have to sand any more later on!

I actually was tempted to just keep it white.  It just looks so pretty!  The chair made such a good prop for some baptism pics I took for a friend.  Check it!

Finally!  Painting!  I used spray paint.  Brand: Krylon.  Blue Ocean Breeze in Glossy.

Here's where I should have showed you a "before" picture of what the chair looked like before I glazed it.  I will also have you know that my paint bubbled all over the place, so I had to sand it and repaint again.  I probably shouldn't have cared so much, but I really do want to do things the right way.

I glazed the chair using a white glaze.  Normally, I do black but I thought it would be nice to just give this chair some subtle dimension.  I like it.  It's almost hard to tell I did it but just check out the groove in the back of the chair.

Finally!  Finished!  Only took like 2 mos... :)