Stacyverb

Glider fix-up, phase four: DONE!

This post has been a long time coming.  I started this project back in May, and worked on it sporadically throughout the summer as time, money, and weather allowed.  For those of you who missed it, this is how the glider looked when I began this undertaking:

 

And here's how it looks now (drum roll...):

 

 

There were many times during this process when I felt I was in way over my head, and many more times when I just longed for it to be finished already, dammit.  But I kept going.

 

Some things I've learned from this project:

1. It'll be a loooong time before I ever want to spray paint anything again.
2. By deciding to use two colors, I made this project twice as hard.
3. People who do this professionally and charge $1000 and up for their work? Yeah, those folks earn every. single. penny.

 

 

So, it's done.  It's not perfect, but that's okay.  Progress was so slow, so gradual, that I got used to seeing the glider at each phase along the way, and I forgot how it had looked before.  So when I compare before and after...

 

...it's kind of shocking, the difference.  And then I'm actually kind of impressed with myself.  Hee.  So no, I won't be dwelling on the things I could've done better.  I'll just be gliding and enjoying a job (pretty) well done.  (And feeling really, really relieved that it's finished.)

Glider fix-up, phase three

Doesn't it seem like this project has been going on FOREVER?  Yeah, I'm ready to be done.  But it's been really tricky to get the right combination of free time, cooperative weather, and money for supplies.  Whenever I finally do manage to get all three of these factors to line up, I take advantage of it.

 

 

As I much I wanted to believe I was ready to apply the actual paint after my previous session, in reality I knew I needed a more thorough coat of primer first.  After a trip to my local hardware store for more supplies, I dove in.

 

 

Besides the rarity of the time/weather/money trifecta, the other thing that's been making this project take so long is that each phase is really several mini-phases, because I have to do one side, wait until it dries, flip it over, do another side, etc.

 

It's getting there!  We spend a lot of time on the porch in the fall months, so (fingers crossed) there should still be plenty of good glider time ahead when this is finally finished. 

Coming soon: paint (for real this time!)

Glider fix-up, phase two

When we last saw my glider project, the question on everyone's mind was, "Has Stacy gotten in over her head here?"  Well.  Let me end the suspense right now and tell you that the answer to that question is a resounding YES.

Phase two was more pleasant than phase one in the sense that the skies were cloudy, so it wasn't as hot and miserable as the first day.  It was less pleasant than phase one in the sense that...well, in pretty much every other way.

 

Phase two involved flipping the gilder over to power-sand it and remove loose rust and paint with a wire brush.  The underside of this thing was a @%*$ mess.  Sure, I expected cobwebs and rust, but there were also some weird cocoon-like globs down there (which were surprisingly hard to remove), as well as flaky patches of what I assume to be the glider's original (toxic, no doubt) paint job from 19whenever. 

 

Risking spider bites, lead poisoning, and tetanus, I pressed on.  I did the best I could, but let me just tell you, it was impossible to reach my tools in and around all these crevices and sharp corners.  But it's definitely waaaay better than it was, and I'm hoping the primer will prevent (or at least slow down) future degradation of the base metal.

 

Mmmm...primer-y goodness.  At this point, I was hungry and out of primer, so I stopped for the day.  After payday, I'll go to the hardware store for more primer and apply a second coat.  But...it's getting there, isn't it?

Coming soon: the fun part--paint!

Glider fix-up, phase one

When I was a kid, my grandparents had a metal porch glider that I loved to sit and "swing" on.  When I got old enough to think about things I would like to have for my own home, I always thought about a glider like that. 

The day we came to look at the house where we live now, guess what was on the porch--yup, an old metal glider.  Even better, the people who were moving out of the house didn't plan on taking it with them.  It was destiny!  I immediately wanted to live here based on the glider alone.  (That's a little bit of an exaggeration, but not much.)

When the glider first came into my possession, it was mostly light yellow but also quite rusty.  I sanded it a bit and painted it a rich wine color.

Well, that was quite a few years ago, and by now the glider needs another refresher.  I started tackling this project over the weekend.  Here's what I'm dealing with:

I started by scraping off areas where the paint was already peeling, and then used a power sander to get everything smoothed out.

 

Poor thing.  It's been well-loved, but needs some TLC.

 

"What have I gotten myself into??"

Phase one took several hours of sweat and elbow grease, by which point I was tired and rain clouds were starting to roll in. 

Coming soon: primer!