Be careful not to tear any existing fabric while you remove the seat cushion. If you’re going to refinish the wood of the chair too, remove the upholstered seat first but wait until you finish the wood to reupholster and attach the seat again. If the seat is not screwed on, look for other hardware holding it in place and remove it with the appropriate tool. For example, if it is bolted on, use a wrench to loosen the bolts.
Mark the orientation of the fabric on the cushion with a pen or marker after you remove it to help you remember which way it sat on the chair. It might come in handy when you’re cutting your new fabric. If the fabric is not stapled in place, look at what’s holding it in place and use a different tool to remove the hardware. For example, if it’s tacked down with nails, use the back of a claw hammer to pry the nails out.
If the existing batting is still nice and firm and not dirty, skip this step.
Alternatively, measure the seat cushion and add 3 in (7. 6 cm) to each side. Draw this pattern on the back side of your new fabric and cut it out. Make sure to take the print or pattern of the new fabric into account when you’re orienting the old fabric on it, so the new cushion will look just how you want it to.
If any of the fabric is crooked when you’re finished, just pry out the staples with a flat-head screwdriver, pull the fabric to adjust it, and staple it again. Trim away any excess fabric with fabric scissors when you finish stapling if it bothers you, but leave about 1–2 in (2. 5–5. 1 cm) of fabric past each staple. For the corners, fold the extra fabric into neat triangles and staple them down.
If you’re going to refinish the wood on your old chair, make sure you’re completely done and that the new finish is completely dry before you attach the cushion.
If you’re having a hard time scraping out the old glue, use spreading clamps to hold pieces apart or tap them further apart with a wooden mallet to make it easier to scrape out the glue. If all the joints seem secure and you don’t find any other damage, skip the structural repair steps.
Very old antique chairs are often assembled with hide glue rather than modern woodworking glues. If you want to keep your restoration as authentic as possible, use hide glue to rebond the joints on antique chairs.
Though most types of wood glue dry to the touch within an hour or so, clamping the joints overnight ensures that there is no stress on them while the glue cures all the way and that the new bonds will be very strong.
Seat rails are the 4 pieces of the chair frame that hold the seat in place. For example, if the seat rails have been eaten up by woodworm, are cracked, or are otherwise weakened, these reinforcing blocks will make it more sound and sturdy to sit on. Triangular blocks also help reinforce loose corner joints even more.
Finish stripping solvents are very corrosive, so they’ll damage anything they come into contact with. You definitely don’t want to get them on your skin or in your eyes, nose, or lungs! Avoid enclosed areas like basements with poor ventilation because the fumes from the solvents linger. If you’re working in close proximity to other pieces of furniture or on floors that you don’t want to damage, cover them with plastic sheets to protect them. Use a fan and aim it towards a door or window to blow air out of your workspace for better ventilation if you’re working inside.
Don’t use a paint brush with synthetic bristles because some types of finish stripper melt them. Remove any non-wood components, such as an upholstered seat, before you apply the finish stripper. Always pour stripper into a metal container—it’ll eat through plastic.
The exact amount of time it takes for the finish stripper to dissolve the old finish depends on how much finish is left on the chair, how many layers thick it is, and the specific type of finish.
You can also use a scrub pad to wipe off the excess finish. If there are any areas where you still see old finish, just brush on a second coat of finish stripper and repeat the process to remove it all.
Make sure you rinse off the whole chair very thoroughly. Any remaining stripper residue may interfere with refinishing the chair.
To get into any cracks and crevices, just fold up a piece of sandpaper into a small square and push it into the awkward spaces by hand without using a sanding block. Avoid using a power sander because they leave swirl marks that are visible when you apply the new finish.
If you don’t have a tack cloth, just use any lint-free cloth like a cotton rag or a microfiber cloth.
If you don’t want to change the natural color of the wood by staining it, skip this step. Wipe away drips and excess stain with a lint-free rag as you work to achieve a smooth, even finish.
If you didn’t stain the wood and you want to keep the chair as close to its natural wood color as possible, choose a clear coat with a matte finish. If you disassembled the chair at all, wait at least another 24 hours for the topcoat to dry before you put any pieces like an upholstered seat back on.
