Funky-loopy
Lately I’ve been craving more colorful furniture and accessories outdoors … of course, I’ve decided to add the color myself. The bench, above, is the first of those efforts. Probably ’60s era, it’s a single fiberglass wave mounted on tubular metal legs … something we’ve all seen thousands of times. I found mine at Treasures N Junk in Ontario for a super-low price and have had it for months … the whole time wondering how I might salvage its rough condition and make it a piece to be proud of. My first thought was to paint it; I just couldn’t decide on a color. Then it hit me: why have just a single color, and why paint? — why not upholster it? Not with traditional padding and upholstery fabric (that’s outside my skill set) but with something I already had on hand, something that was just taking up space and moldering in the garage … Something like my collection of bizarre old thrift store and flea market paintings … Already wildly colorful, waterproof and on still-flexible canvas, I reasoned my loopy masterpieces would make perfectly unconventional upholstery fabric and give my bench new life … Totally unique, I love the funky final product! Here’s how I did it …
Raw materials
The bench as I bought it was in pretty rough shape, it had been painted a couple of times and the paint was peeling; its edges seemed a bit chewed up, too, and I imagined they’d been dragged behind a pickup on a rough country road. The paintings: I’d had them for years, moving them from house to house … I tried to get rid of them during purges by putting them up for sale — I tried giving them to people — but still they stayed. By using them as upholstery fabric I could keep them and get them out of the garage; win-win. I removed their mostly-wooden frames and and used a damp cloth to freshen up their dusty painted faces.
Ready for smoothing
My poor bench needed freshening up as well. I first used rough, then fine grade, sandpaper, to smooth out its surface; bits of old paint fell off like snowflakes. I ran sandpaper over the bench’s edges to refine them …
Shapely legs
As for the legs, they got a good scrubbing and I spray painted them with a gray/black hammered metal-look paint. They dried in no time due to the heat and I returned to the bench …
Primer time
Using an all-purpose primer in neutral gray, I painted on three coats. Instantly the bench became a literal blank canvas, perfect for applying old canvases to.
Uniform cuts
My first idea was to apply the paintings as-is, whole, to the bench’s surface; but while doing a cursory positioning to see whether I had sufficient canvases to cover it, I decided that look was boring. Not enough energy. Why not more of a crazy quilt-type effect, with the canvases cut into uniform strips and positioned more whimsically? I took a deep breath and went for it, using the smallest of the paintings to determine a standard width (8-inches), and cutting all the others to match using a T-square and craft knife. Finally, I trimmed all other edges so that they’d butt-up cleanly each other.
Strip show
Now I felt like I had all sorts of possibilities as I arranged and rearranged them on the bench’s surface … finally arriving at a pattern that had the requisite energy and color story I was after …
Stick up
To adhere the strips firmly to the bench I decided to go with something that would allow the best chance at repositioning at will: extra-strength, water-based, wood glue. Plus, unlike with contact cement, I wouldn’t have to glue both surfaces, which would’ve been a certain mess. Using a wide, stiff nylon bristle brush I slopped the glue on making sure it covered the entire reverse of each strip. I did each strip one at a time, starting in the center and working out. This way I could keep my arrangement intact as I worked …
Extra tack
Certain strips on certain parts of the bench didn’t stick firmly on the edges. A piece of blue painter’s tape added the extra hold I needed while the pieces dried. So far so good, it looked great! To be sure everything had a chance to dry thoroughly I let it dry overnight in the garage … The day’s heat had stored up nicely enough to cure the glue completely, I figured …
Edgy hues
My original goal was to leave the paintings on the bench’s surface as I’d glued them on, without any additional edging; that was not to be. The next day I noticed that many of the painted strips had shrunken just a bit. No longer were they snuggling up to each other cleanly as I’d positioned them. This would never do, so I racked my brain for a solution that would be clean, colorful and complement the paintings themselves … Then it came to me: What about the box of graphic artist studio tapes I’d bought at that local architect’s estate sale?! I pulled them out and sure enough they would be perfect … all the bench’s new colors were there, they were flexible and already self-adhesive … plus, I’d worked with these same tapes way back in the ’80s! Cranking up some ’80s Madonna (I know, sad) I got to taping. I had a limited supply to work with so I prayed I would have enough; they don’t make this stuff anymore. I used the widest and most colorful ones on the outside and back and seat edges (lime green and orange, baby blue) and covered the other seams with narrower tapes in a dark brown.
Defined, lined
With all the edging in place the piece looked much more finished than before. I think this was one of those “sometimes accidents happen for a reason” moments. Now to protect my handiwork …
Milky first
For protection, I again went for something that was waterproof and offered easy clean up: A water-based sealer and varnish. Using the same brushes as for the strip gluing, I brushed on first two milky coats (they dried clear) … then, three additional coats … then, when Paul said, “Boy, that’s gonna need a lot of coats of varnish.”, I applied five more … for ten coats total! I’m glad I did, though, despite it being a lot of work (and a LOT of drying). The bench will be used, and stay, outside.
Grand finale
Once all that varnish was dry, we screwed its gorgeous gray-black legs back on, and voilá! My fiberglass bench looks like new and is certain to be the life of any party, what with its repeating go-go girls, wild abstractions, and odd-fellows (not to mention one middle-aged lady who’s not sure she approves of the company she’s keeping). I’m disregarding her death-ray side eye: This bench is now a work of art!
CREDIT: I have to give credit where credit is due: Unlike past RR projects I didn’t do this one entirely on my own. With my current spinal issues I am unable to lift or move, well, most anything … that’s where my partner and assistant, Paul, has been indispensable. Not only does he rein me in by reminding me not to engage in activities that will provoke further injury, but he’s entirely willing to do the grunt work, too. That includes bench moving, lifting, arranging, and whatever else is needed, to help me accomplish my projects and subsequent photos … It takes what seems like ages to get anything done, but I have to say thanks, Paul, for not only saving my back but for helping me not lose my mind while I’m at home on medical leave.
