Saturday Project

My finished project, tagged and ready.

Being an antique dealer and finding items that need repaired is par for the course. Not my favorite past time mind you, because those little fix-it projects can really build up and the guilt of walking past them every day is more than I want to bare. But once in awhile there is an exception.

This is one small area but most veneer was coming off in large junks.

Weeks ago I purchased this wooden rocker because the price for it warranted the time it would take to make it something special. The veneer was coming off in all kinds of places but I thought I could still make something out of nothing. The structure was still good and the joints firm so I found myself schlepping it to the Curious Sofa ICU.

Week one I pulled away all the loose veneer and lathered on the wood-fill. A few days later, I added more.

After sanding.

Saturday I sanded it down and painted it quickly with a concoction of brown and black craft paint all the while planning to tack fabric over the painted pieces- but that didn't work. So I rummaged through the boxes of paper scrap I have because I am a girl that prefers Elmers Glue and scissors to a Singer sewing machine.


I found a pile of printed script tissue I bought at John Derian's in New York a year ago and although I knew gluing tissue was going to be a challenge (being so thin) it was the right color and style for the camouflage job I needed. I painted on a thin layer of wallpaper paste and used a small squeegee to get it smooth. Pressing it smoothly while not tearing it was a challenge.

After an hour or so (letting it dry with a small fan) I got out my trusty X-acto knife and cut away the excess. (cutting it dry is better than wet).

Before with ragged edges.

Some edges were not as secured as I would have liked (Elmers would have held this down better) so I opted to sand the edges, paper and all, until smooth and get a more distressed look.

After sanding.

Complete before sealing.

Once I finished the back and seat I felt the arms needed it too. After it was done and bone dry, I sanded all the edges to be soft to the touch so any paper wouldn't eventually curl up and then painted over the entire job with tinted glaze. A varnish would work too.

Finished with a brown glaze.

Now let's get out in that garage and finish some projects! And some other news...