1970's Metal Chair Update
by Judy
3 Materials
$45
2 Days
Medium
These are our 1970's bouncy metal chairs. They have been painted so many times & the wood replaced.
My brother is a boat repair man and said to really get new long life, we had to use Teak wood.
This was super expensive but luckily he and the guy who had the wood worked out a trade. Lucky me!
I wanted to give these as a gift to my brother in law who has helped my parents immensely but he wouldn't take them.
So, on a trip for a visit, I told him
I had a project and needed his help.
I came clean they were actually for him.
However, he ended up doing most of the work!
Here is the progress.
These are the chairs. My dad did them years ago and was using mahogany. He painted them to keep the wood from rotting in the Florida sun. It lasted for over 5 years.
The screws are in the tracks behind the wood slats in the back. Tricky to fit tools into.
After removing the arm
piece we had lots of rust to clean up. Removing the rust insures clean paint adherence and stopping more damage.
Using steel wool then a drill bit to remove the rust with a wire rust remover they were good as new.
To get the painted and rusted on screws off he used a cutting tool to cut them off. Zip and it was done!
A can of rustoleum teal spray paint and here we have a beautiful frame ready for a make over. Wait till you see this!
For the wood we had 1/2" thick Teak by 20.5". Long By 2" wide. I sanded them with a vibrating sander which made the job super easy. These were reclaimed wood so it had some paint and finish which came off easily.
Line up the holes on the chair with the new slats and drill the holes so you don't split the wood. It is much easier this way.
We choose to polyurethane them
to give easy upkeep. Teak oil needs to be reapplied yearly so we opted out of that.
We used 2 coats of poly but could use more for added durability.
Using stainless steel screws, nuts and washers so they do not rust is key! We choose the rounded heads so no one would catch their clothing on them and it looks better. Any hardware store has the screws but make sure they are stainless and not coated stainless. You will pay more but it will be less cost in the end by lasting longer.
Complete and in their place.
Before they looked like garbage. Now someone would pay hundreds For vintage chairs.
We are thrilled my brother in law has them and I can't wait for the next project!
If you see metal chairs like this grab them
up!
They are great rocking/bouncing chairs on a hot summers eve or by the fire pit.
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Comments
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6 of 44 comments
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My son found a chair on the roadside. I'm looking forward to doing something quite similar. Thank you for your post!
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Oh awesome! I hope you share photos when you’re done.
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Very nice, great idea.
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
What did you use to repair damaged metal? My table legs are badly rusted!
The legs on our chairs are tubular and cracked. Can they be repaired ?