This project has taken much more time than I expected! I spent two months and 13 days restoring this piece of history. Now, I completed this in my spare time.. but I have a lot of spare time on my hands lol. FINALLY two days before christmas of 2022, my project is complete.
For me, this is my art. It was a project I completed because I wanted to see the bench finished. I did not do this because it would financially be “worth the effort’. In all honesty, you could have purchased a restored carpenters bench for the same cost I have in restoring it. Maybe even cheaper… Though it may not have been designed with a refrigerator and black marble sink like I desired.
This bench will be placed in my Ostuni townhouse once the renovation is complete as a small kitchenette and bar.
The bench was covered in layers of purple paint with lots or rotten wood. I had to deconstruct the entire piece and then rebuild it back replacing the bad wood as needed. I did my best to save as much of the original piece as possible. Luckily the structural pieces of the bench were savable. Most of the deconstruction is photographed in my original post about this project. That post can be seen at Carpenters Bench To Kitchen.
Once the bench was taken apart, I started stripping the paint. I went through four cans StripGel to remove all the paint from the structure. Don’t be fooled, this product is very strong! I just had that much paint to remove! lol
I applied the stripGel with a paint brush and let it sit for about 5 mins. I did not go by the directions that said let it sit for up to 30 mins. I tried that at the beginning and after 30 mins the StripGel was dry and was much harder to remove the paint.
Once I noticed the paint start to bubble up and pull away from the wood I took a paint scraper and started removing the layers of paint immediately. I went through this process about 5 times before I got to the raw wood. In certain areas I used StripGel and a wire brush. The wire brush helps you get in tight spaces and around detail areas.
Look at the bench once it was stripped though! Once the paint was off the old wood, that is when I realized I was in love with this piece. The aged wood really captivated me.
Now that the paint is gone, it was time to stabilize the bench. As you can see in the images below, I had to add new wood for supports. I added four new braces between the legs and I added a sheet of plywood under the original top for extra support. I also had to remove the original bottom shelf of the bench as it was completely rotten. I added a new plywood base here as well and secured this with my favorite wood glue, Gorilla Wood Glue and nails.
I was originally working on this bench out of my townhouse in Ostuni that is being renovated. I had to take this project back to my home after stabilizing it because the contractor was ready to start demolition on my property. It was here that I started sanding the wood and getting the bench ready to reconstruct.
After sanding I was searching for a stain that would make the new wood appear aged like the original structure. I came across a stain that I have since been searching for and I only found it at Leroy merlin. This stain color does not even show up on Leroy Merlin’s website correctly but I did link it here to what their website shows: Naturwood Botte Extra Opaco.
Once I applied the stain, I immediately wiped the excess off with a damp rag. Again, this is not part of the instructions but for my project, I needed an aged look. I wanted the stain to not look ‘perfect’.
Once the stain was dry, I completed the piece with a top-coat by Bianco Shabby. I used this top-coat in a previous piece I finished that you can read about in Savonarola chairs. For me, this top-coat is extremely matte in its finish. I do not really fancy a shiny finish on most furniture in my home.
Here is my finished project!
I think this will create the perfect bar and/or kitchenette in my palazotto located in Ostuni, Italy. Maybe one day you can stop by and I will make you all a drink with our Altamura Distilleries Vodka or Gin. Thanks for reading about my project.
Contact me @scatenacreativita for items I have for sale or if you need any furniture restored.
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