Benched: In with the New

I showed you this old bench and how I began its revival here.

Bench - Front View - Before

 The bench was primed.

Ready for the next step

 The remaining steps were:

• buy supplies
• paint topcoat
  

  Charcoal Metallic Spray Paint

• attach wood slats
• find a place for the bench.

I bought the paint (above) and stainless steel nuts and bolts (maybe these won’t rust) at Lowes for $18.13.

Stainless steel nuts and bolts

 Lowes didn’t have wood the same width (2.25 inches) as the original slats so I didn’t buy anything, but when I returned home I realized that a traditional 1 x 3 (which is actually only 2.5 inches wide) would fit in the allotted spaces. So I went to Home Depot to get seven 4′ long 1 x 3s. They didn’t have what I wanted either so I went back to Lowes and bought four 8′ furring strips ($5.30).

New lumber with one old slat on top

 I spray painted 3 to 5 light coats of Rustoleum’s Metallic Charcoal on all sides of the metal frame.

2 or 3 light coats of paint to start

 One can was barely enough but I wasn’t about to buy a second can for a couple of sprays since this is fairly expensive spray paint ($6.78 per can).

After final coat of Metallic Charcoal

 Then Charlie cut the slats to size.

Sawing bench slats using the wheelbarrow as a workbench

 On my way home from Lowes after buying the furring strips I had the brilliant notion that these furring strips should not just be left to weather naturally. Not wanting to spend anymore money on this project, I remembered I have 2 colors of blue wood stain left over from the kitchen cabinets. I took the Minwax stain I had on hand:

1. Deep Ocean (a true blue)
2. Island Water (a deep teal)
3. English Chestnut (dark brown)

and tested each of them on a board.  I also tried layering #1 over #3 and vice versa. Here’s the tester board. While I was testing, Charlie gave each board a light sanding, then wiped them down with a dry rag.

From top to bottom 1, 2, 3.

 Shockingly, we both liked #1 Deep Ocean best.  (We hardly ever agree on color!)

I brushed on and wiped off with a rag 2 coats of stain on each side of each board

 After marking the hole sites using an old board as a template, 

Marking holes

 I drilled holes for the bolts to go through making sure each slat would line up with the bench frame.

Drilling the bolt holes

 The finish wasn’t quite right so I brushed on 2 coats of polyurethane which I had on hand.

Before Polyurethane

 Here’s our park bench painted, polyurethaned and assembled.

Park Bench in the morning light

 Here’s the before.

Bench - Front View - Before

And here is the final bench which I plan to put in the hydrangea garden when Charlie gets it cleared out on the east side of the house.

Finished!

 Final Cost          $23.43 

I hope it lasts a good long time, another 20 years would be really nice.

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