HOW I RESCUED AN OLD CHURCH PEW

$330
1 Day
Medium
When we started our living room makeover, I knew that I’d need a long bench by the front door to fill up the space with purpose. And I dreamt of a church pew. Of course, my original idea was to build one – but my husband found another way.

He scoured local Facebook selling groups to find a vintage pew that would fit the space we needed. And in no time he found one in Franklin. So we took the 1 1/2 hour trek to check out a pew that someone had hidden away in their garage.
I knew immediately that this beauty needed to be brought back to life. This is where I get all sentimental: for years and years, our small town had a church pew factory (which is no longer open), and for some reason I felt like this pew needed to come “home.”


We bought it from the nice lady who had it, then brought it home. The next morning we started working on it, because I knew that it had too much that needed to be repaired to leave it alone.
Supplies:


This is the first time I’ve used paint stripper to refinish furniture – and I have to admit it couldn’t have been any easier! I chose Citri-strip because it’s non-toxic and while it does an amazing job at eating through the furniture, it didn’t bother my skin at all where it touched it. (And by the end I had it all over me!) 


So slather it on pretty thick. Don’t be shy! Work in small areas – about 18 inches square or so, especially if it’s warm. You DO not want it to dry before you get it covered.



Speaking of getting it covered. Cut some squares from the painter’s plastic, so as you get an area covered you can immediately cover it up. You want to smoosh the plastic down so it locks that moisture in. (Smoosh is the technical term, ya know?)
Once you have the entire piece covered with plastic covered Citris-strip, walk away. SERIOUSLY. Do NOT peek. Let it sit for at least 8 hours… 12 is even better. Just go shopping. Or take a nap. Or read a book. Just DO NOT PEEK. 
Then… when you come back, you’ll see all that paint all bubbled up. This is what you’re looking for. If you didn’t get this – then scrape off what came loose and slather it up again. 
Use a plastic furniture scrapper– not metal – to get off as much as you can. Don’t dig into the wood – just let the Citri-Strip do it’s job. 
We actually had to do three different coats on this piece to get off all that paint. There were FIVE layers. I started to wonder if we’d ever make it to raw wood. But eventually, after all the paint layers and at least 2 kinds of lacquer, we finally got it all off. 


We repaired in all the random nail holes with wood filler to help bring it back to life, too.
My husband had to take a piece of scrap wood we had and trace the bottom of the leg to replace the third leg in the center that was missing. 
Between the new wood and old, plus all the filler we had to use – paint was really our only option. So we put on a few coats and let it completely dry before putting it in the perfect spot in our living room.


Now the little church pew that has heard thousands of prayers gets a little spot of honor by our front door. She’s become one of my favorite things about our living room. 
Gina @ The Shabby Creek Cottage
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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  2 questions
  • S.b23909250 S.b23909250 on Jul 02, 2017

    What color paint did you use? The gray is a lovely, soft shade.


  • Jazzysam Jazzysam on Jul 04, 2017

    This is BEAUTIFUL !! If you don't mind telling what brand & color of gray paint did you use ? Thanks so much !! GREAT JOB !! :)

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