Call Me Bob Vila

The scary, scary before.

Okay, maybe not, but I'm still pretty handy with some sand paper and paint. Today, I got a chance to start working on the flea market find highchair I picked up a few weeks ago. Armed with a screwdriver, sand paper, and primer it was time for stage one.

For the most part, this chair was in good, sturdy shape. It even still had the maker's mark on the back of the headrest. The tray was probably the roughest part, but totally fixable.

One arm down, lots to go.

At first, I wasn't planning on priming, but after I started to sand I quickly realized that it was going to be a slow process to get it completely down to bare wood. Priming = less sanding. Instead of bare wood, you just need to rough up the finish enough for paint to stick.

Off to Lowe's I went. Again. The guy at the paint counter asked what I was working on and had some great tips for my project.

• Since I'm going to use a bright color as my top coat, he tinted my primer to a light grey. It'll be easier for the red to cover than a stark white would have been. Thanks paint guy.
• Apparently, primer dries much faster than regular paint. He suggested wetting my brush a bit before starting to paint to prevent dry primer build up in the bristles. Wouldn't you know it worked like a charm. It was incredibly easy to clean the brush afterwards.
• Applying hand cream to your hands (or hands, forearms, and face in my spastic case) prevents paint from sticking to you and drying while you work. It just rubs off. 
• Ignore the primer's instructions that say its ready to paint over in 2 hours. He said to let it dry for at least 24 hours for a good solid base. Okay paint man, I trust you.

 After about an hour and a half of sanding with 60 and 100 grit sandpaper by both Jeff and I, it was finally ready for primer. Just so you know, I consider sanding this thing my work out for the week month.

Why is primer so darn ugly? Grey primer at that. That's alright, as soon as this puppy dries, its getting a beautiful coat of bright red. I cannot wait!

                               Post sanding, pre-priming.                              Post priming, pre-painting.

While I wait for the primer to set, my next job is to figure out how to get rust/gunk off of the hardware. Fortunately, the old metal clips that hold the tray on are completely functional, just not pretty. I'm going to look up a few things and see what my options are. I'm hoping I can find a cheap home remedy since I'm trying to keep the price of this restore to a minimum. At the moment, my total between the chair, paint, primer, and sand paper is about $20. Not too shabby for a custom antique highchair.

More to come after I get this thing painted! Get excited!