Super productive weekend last week! I feel we are in our last big push to get summer chores done before summer ends, because right behind that comes fall clean-up and winterizing. I made a project for myself early this summer when I scored these two awesome but old Adirondack chairs at a yard-sale for only $20. New Adirondack chairs, wood or a decent composite, start at $160 each from what I’ve seen. Sure, the chairs were wobbly and had a lot of cracks, but there was still a lot of life left in this wood.
They fold, so there were a lot of screws and moving parts to tighten. After tightening up everything and sanding down the old finish, I filled in a whole bunch of cracks, chips, and divets with a stainable wood-filler. Next, I stained the chairs with an ebony oil-based wood stain. I wanted them very black, so I went heavy on the stain. Really heavy. Much heavier than recommended with a sponge brush. I wiped away all the excess stain as directed, but they still took several days to dry. Then I buffed the chairs with some light mineral spirits just to make sure there was no sticky stain build-up left on the chairs that might transfer to clothing.
Here is the end result! Dark black chairs to go with our new black mailbox and black porch fixtures. I like the black stain because it’s a really deep color, but you still get the wood grain showing through. I haven’t sealed them with a polyurethane yet, and I’m debating if it’s needed. They live on a covered porch, so will only get some occasional spray from a heavy rain. If I poly on top, it will be mostly for UV protection.
