Repaired, & Refinished Bench

Katrina Warren
by Katrina Warren
$50.00
Easy
This bench was badly weathered & some of the seat slats were starting to rot on the ends making it perilous to sit on, unless you were only a 10 lb. rat terrier named Forrest.
I decided it was time to make it safe for anyone to sit on. As you can see some of the seat slats had begun to rot on the ends of the underside. So we picked up 3 8'x3" red oak boards to replace the seat slats with. Pricier than going with pine, but I want it to last. Using the old slats as a guide we cut the new wood to fit.
The boards on the back of the bench were in decent shape so for cost effectiveness I decided to just sand those down & refinish them.
Back sanded & ready for stain.
I used Minwax red oak stain on the wood.
After staining, I brushed three coats of Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane on all of the slats allowing a minimum of 4hrs. dry time between coats, & lightly sanding between each coat with fine steel wool before applying the next coat.
Once the final coat of urethane was dry, & everything gone over a final time with fine steel wool, the bench was ready to be put back together & put back in the yard.........
With the spar urethane protection this bench should withstand the weather well for a few years.
Forrest tested it out right away after taking it back outside but unfortunately the bench gets a Thumbs Down from him, as he tends to slide on the nice smooth finish now...... :/
Frequently asked questions
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  • Donna Donna on Jun 04, 2017

    We have a similar bench in a similar state. When you replaced the seat slats were you able to buy wood already rounded, if not how did you round them?

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  • Heidy Heidy on Jul 27, 2015
    Oooo, it's stunning! Thanks for inspiring me to re-do my bench. Run Forrest! Cute pup!
    • Katrina Warren Katrina Warren on Jul 27, 2015
      @Heidy Thanks, & his name is actually Forrest Gump because he loves to run! =D
  • Jeanette S Jeanette S on Jul 27, 2015
    Great job! My son found one beside the road, brought it home and restored it. It has a special space on my front porch!
    • Katrina Warren Katrina Warren on Jul 27, 2015
      @Jeanette S Roadside finds are great aren't they! My daughter also found one on the roadside waiting for trash pick up, I haven't had a chance to redo that one yet. :)
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