Get it Together

OK, so you've got these neat metal chairs which belonged to your Great Great Grandmother, and there they sit, restored and gleaming on the newly painted porch. Great result, no doubt about it, but something was missing. A swing.

The swing arrived last week and sat in its box while our old enemy, The Weather, attacked us with an endless barrage of rain. Then it cleared, the climate changed and out came the swing, ready for painting.

Blue Painter

It lay there looking pristine and wooden at the front of the Compound, ready for a light sanding and paint. I opted for cheap white enamel primer & paint spray for the first couple of coats and then Rustoleum's "professional grade" white enamel. That was cheap too, thanks, Walmart.

Typical Texan Street Art

Rustoleum's hi-grade spray paint is apparently tough enough for "industrial applications," so I figured it'd probably do the trick. Time, all three of you who read this engaging mind blog, will tell. And I have to say, spray painting wood takes a while; maybe I should have brushed on the primer. Still, perhaps spray makes for a better finish.

Painted, at Last...

Then it was done. A painted porch swing sitting on its cardboard box in front of the house in the Texan sun, waiting for the paint to do its thing and dry in the marketeers' promised 15 minutes, which it pretty much did.

Well I'll be, There's a Swing on The Porch

Now it's on the porch, suspended by two 10' chains and I thank our ancestors for being wise to high ceilings, it makes a difference.

Rifle to Pot

To celebrate this victory, I broke out a pack of venison sausages from their refrigerated prison, made some batter and put it all together in a heavy metal pot. It'll be toad in the hole in a bit, and goes with onion gravy, delicious.

Porch life,

LSP

The Restoration

There they are, three family heirlooms sitting in the back yard of your compound, rusting. And you look at the metal chairs which belonged to your Great Great Grandmother and think, it's high time these relics of a better age were brought back to life, restored.

Walmart

The next thing you know you're at Walmart, getting a haircut, taking care of business at the 1st Inconvenience Bank and buying sandpaper, primer and white enamel Rustoleum spray paint. Then what?

Sanded

Sand the chairs. I used 100 grit paper and a couple of sanding sponges, and wish I'd bought more; they're efficient. When the grit's gone, deploy them as blocks and that works too.

The Watcher

A hour or so later congratulate yourself, well done, you've finished sanding. Stand back and behold the improvement, a promise of things to come.

Apocalyptic reverie over, wash the beasts down with some kind of spirit and spray. Three coats took around two cans per chair and I think they looked sharp, but the third chair needed special treatment. 

Filthy

That's because it'd managed to get itself especially filthy and had to be cleaned before sanding. An old abrasive kitchen sponge did the trick and neatly removed flaking paint to boot. Result.

Clean

Chair #3 gets a sanding and spray tomorrow. In the meanwhile, #1 and #2 rest on the porch, looking good and ready for action. They'll be joined by a swing and #3 as time moves inexorably on towards its end.

Blue Eschaton

We'll watch that play out, on the porch.

God bless,

LSP