Off season? Maybe I could..... Refinish a Steelcase chair

My junior year of college I lived in an apartment at Maxwell Terrace. It was my first year off campus, and I only planned to be there for 4 months before leaving to study abroad. Dumpster diving for office furniture was a natural choice. (Please suspend ¨dirty hippy¨ judgements. Think Reduce-Reuse-Recycle, and it might seem more responsible and less....dirty.)

I found a disaster of a desk that worked well enough through college before I returned to the dumpster where I had found it and a mustard yellow desk chair. The chair was in good enough shape, or maybe I just liked the color enough, so I brought it home after college.

Liked the color and shape. Felt sturdy. Looked like it may have been around since the 70s but could easily serve me for a few decades more.

Not a fan of the dirt, spots, and scratched metal it had picked up in the past four decades of use.

Nothing some Soft Scrub, soaking, scrubbing, scratching up metal, and spray paint couldn´t fix.

Time: approx 2 hours, including drying time between coats
Materials: old chair, screwdriver, Soft Scrub, scouring pad, stainless steel spray paint
Cost: $5.50 for 2 cans of spray paint, $2 for stainless steel scouring pads to scratch up previous finish on the metal frame
Satisfaction: * * * * *
What I learned: What a Steelcase chair is. Stainless steel spray paint is dry to the touch in under 15 minutes but can take 2 weeks to fully set. Bringing your project(or chair) with you to the hardware store is a way to make sure the person working knows exactly what you´re talking about. Novice spray painters (like me) might need up to twice as much spray paint as a pro. Short sprays and multiple coats make for an even final product. Windy days are not the best days for spray painting unless you do it inside a garage. Quality items (like Steelcase chairs,) even ones found in the trash, are worth the effort.