Chinese Benches Revisited

[talesofthesevenseas]

Hey gang, remember back in September I posted some photos of very weathered antique Chinese benches that I was debating if I should leave them alone or restore them? Here's the old topic: http://www.antique-shop.com/forums/index.php?topic=5414 Well, I thought about it for a long time and finally decided to go ahead and to a restoration. They were just too worn and gray to go with the rest of the Chinese furniture I have. Another major consideration was that the benches were used in an artists studio and had paint spatters on them. I thought you guys would like to see some before and after pix of one of the benches:

Here is the bench before:





I decided to go with a deep dark red finish, with touches of antique gold on the design. I put the bench outdoors underneath an awning where it would soak up some of the damp air after it had been stained, before I did the gold and left it out there for about two weeks. Having the wood a damp helped me to get a more realistic "bleed-through" effect on the gold. I wanted it to keep the old weathered look, but to make it look as if this had been the original finish as much as possible. Here are the "after" pix of the same old Chinese garden bench:

[Dean Perdue]

Nice work.

I like how you did the gold without letting it get into those small crevices so it would bring out the details.
Was it time consuming?

Any plans on what your going to do with it? Maybe a nice display table for some of your other treasures?

[ironlord1963]

Nice Tales, you did a great job.  thanks for sharing

[KC]

I am impressed!!!  That looks really, really nice.  LIKE how you highlighted the design!

how are you doing?  You are in our prayers!!!!

[talesofthesevenseas]

Thanks! I considered putting a clear coat of varnish to give these a more finished look, but I think it's probably more in keeping with the rustic look if I don't. I'll post some photos of the other bench and the stool as I redo them.The two benches sit at each end of my Chinese wedding bed and they really do look much more appropriate than they did unfinished.

I am actually doing great this week. But I was sick as a dawg last week after my first round of chemo. It looks like that will kind of be my schedule through the first part of May- one bad week, one good week. Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers!

[D&b antiques]

Tales you are a part of our Family, now we will certainly keep you in our prayers. that was nice work.

[talesofthesevenseas]

Awww thanks! 

Answering Dean's question about if it was time consuming-  Yes and no, LOL. I tried to lightly sandpaper the worst of the paint spatters off, but it didn't work too well because they had gone down into the crevases and as soon as I put the dark stain on, they really showed up badly and I couldn't get at 'em! Ultimately I lightly "repainted" each little spatter with black paint, then used my fingers to blend it more naturally into the dark stain. Again, the wood being damp helped with the blending that I was hoping to get. I wouldn't leave other types of furniture outside to do this but since these were originally outdoor pieces, I wasn't worried it would hurt them. The sitting outdoors took about two weeks, but the other parts went pretty quick. To do the gold I used a small fine semi-stiff cheap brush so that it wouldn't coat too thoroughly, and lightly brushed small amounts of gold over the design. I also blotted with a paper towel if the paint accidently went on too thick. I probably spent about two hours doing the gold, an hour on the black and just one coat of stain was just a few minutes.

[regularjoe2]

Looks like you had 'fun' with this one , talesof .... you even got to fingerpaint .

Turned out pretty well , all in all .

Glad to see you're feeling up to having some fun with your projects !

[talesofthesevenseas]

I was pretty sick for about 6 days, but once I rebounded I really felt good again. I go in for round two of eight  on Friday.

[Chinese Antique Furniture]

Tales,

GREAT JOB ON THE BENCH!!!!!!!!  Will you hire out?

Didn't know that you were fighting cancer.  We will keep you in our prayers.  My wife went through it almost 20 years ago.  Hell at the time, but she's a survivor, as we know you will be as well. 

We're with you all the way!

[talesofthesevenseas]

Thanks Chinese Antique Furniture and thanks for the well wishes! The good news is that my lymph nodes are clear and I have a very good prognosis, with a long, normal life ahead. Just got to get through the tough stuff. That is great to hear that your wife came through it OK!! 

Hmmmm, I hadn't thought about hiring out, but if you have furniture in the in the San Francisco Bay Area in need of a little TLC let me know! FYI I have no professional training in this, I just enjoy it. This Chinese cabinet had the most dramatic before/after restoration:

Before (as found on Craigslist for $45)


After:

[Chinese Antique Furniture]

OMG, Tales

This is PHENOMINAL!!!!!!

You have done it absolutely BEAUTIFULLY!!!!

Thanks so much for sharing

[talesofthesevenseas]

Thanks C.A.F.!!