Dining chair restoration photo journal

TL;DR

This project nicely satisfied two things at same time–the need for new dining chairs, and an activity to fill the time of cancelled weekend trips (#2020). Around the time of the Bay Area’s first shelter-in-place order, I found a six-piece teak dining chair set for a good price. Quarantine project engage. 💪

Supplies

• Flathead screwdriver, needle-nose pliers
• Sharpies, scissors, tape measure
• Cotton cloths
• Teak oil [link]
• Wood glue [link]
• 220-grit sandpaper
• 24-in steel clamps [link]
• Felt furniture pads [link]
• Staple gun [link]
• Steel wire brush [link]
• New hardware (screws, bolts)
• Adhesive spray [link]
• 1-inch high-density foam [link]
• Upholstery fabric [link]
• Dust cover (for under the seats) [link]
• Good attitude

Update: After broadcasting my progress to anyone who would listen, this project unfortunately was abandoned due to complications in reupholstery. I did the seat backs incorrectly. See below for details about this tragic conclusion. >_<

At purchase

Upholstery removal

Sanding

Repairs and hardware

Wood restoration ✨

Old foam off...

...new foam on!

New upholstery!

Finally, the whoops

When it came time for assembly, I still had the sides of the seat backs to finish. I took them to this upholstery pro at Seventeenth Street Upholstery in San Francisco who laughed at me when he saw them. He took one of my seat backs, ripped it up, and showed me the proper way to do it. Needless to say, I learned reupholstery is a craft I severely underestimated.

After broadcasting my progress to anyone who would listen, this project unfortunately was abandoned due to these complications in reupholstery. I did the seat backs incorrectly. The pieces now sit in cardboard boxes in my garage. WOMP WOMP :(