New Life for an Old Metal Rocker.

Dorinda
by Dorinda
6 Materials
$50
8 Hours
Medium
In the trash is where I found this rocker. It had been a wicker chair, but was in a fire, so most of the wicker was gone. There were still pieces melted to it, but the fire didn't seem to hurt the metal framing at all. It looked like someone had tried to paint the chair pink, but didn't bother sanding and scraping first. I don't know if they ran out of paint or patience, but whomever was painting it, didn't finish the job. The price I put to make this is just a guess, as I had some of the materials used at home. I marked this as a medium challenge because of having to chisel this piece, as well as sanding.
Here is the top view of the chair.
This is the bottom view of the chair, and you can see places where the fire had gotten to it and melted the wicker to the frame.


There was water in the rocker pieces, so I got the water out best I could, and then used DAP Premium Molding & Trim Sealant to fill in around where the legs attached to the rocker pieces.  I also put some in the holes of the grips because a wasp flew out of one of the holes when I picked up the chair.
Using a chisel, I tried to get as much of the burnt wicker off the metal as I could, then I used a 150 grit sandpaper to sand off more, then finished with a 220 grit.  After sanding, I wiped it off with a damp cloth and let it dry.  It's not perfect, some of the wicker just wouldn't come off no matter how much elbow grease I used.
Next thing was to paint the bottom of the chair with Rust-Oleum Gloss Burgundy spray paint. 
I applied the same paint to the top of the chair.  I painted two coats on the whole thing.
I purchased this cushion from Home Depot, and tied it to the chair frame the best I could.  It turned out very cute, and very comfortable, too.
Suggested materials:
  • DAP Premium Molding & Trim Sealant   (Home Depot)
  • Sand paper   (had at home)
  • Chisel   (had at home)
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