How to restore old USSR armchairs and get designer furniture almost for free
At the dacha there were 2 chairs from the times of the USSR. They are almost 43 years old! Although they are old, they are still in good condition. I decided to restore them!
We update old Soviet chairs with our own hands
The first step was to remove the old upholstery. Removed all staples and nails. I unscrewed the legs and separated the back and seat (this made it easier for me to work with them).
I didn't like the color of the legs, so I decided to remove the old varnish. I used B52 paint remover. I applied it to the wood, waited about 10 minutes and scraped it off with a knife. After drying, sanded it with sandpaper.
Then I applied a new coat of varnish. The varnish was applied in 2 layers with a break for drying.
The springs on the chair are still in good condition, so I decided to keep them. I covered the springs with a piece of thick burlap. To do this, I cut out a piece of fabric approximately the size of the seat and attached it using a furniture stapler. Burlap is needed to protect the foam rubber. Without it, the foam will quickly wear out on the springs.
For upholstery I used foam rubber 5 cm thick. The foam rubber was fixed using aerosol glue.
Next comes the padding polyester. Sintepon allows you to smooth out the corners of the foam and adds additional softness to the seat. I also fix the synthetic winterizer using a stapler.
I bought the fabric specifically for covering furniture. It has good wear-resistant properties and will retain its shape longer.
I fix the fabric with a stapler. The degree of tension is very important! It must be uniform, otherwise the output will be non-symmetrical sides. I fix the corners at the very end. I carefully trim off the excess fabric with scissors.
The back and base of the chair are ready. Now they need to be put back together. For greater reliability, I screwed in a couple of self-tapping screws.
Old, rusty screws were replaced with new ones. I made a hole in the fabric for screws so that the fabric would not “creep”, and fixed it with staples.
I decided to paint the legs white (a controversial decision, but I like it better).
To make the lines clear, I wrapped the legs with electrical tape and painted them.
I replaced the old plywood from the back of the chair with new one. For the upholstery, I cut a piece of fabric slightly larger than the back of the chair. Then I sprayed it with spray adhesive and glued the fabric in place. The back was fixed with a nailer using small nails.
To hide the springs, the bottom of the chair was covered with burlap.
The result exceeded all expectations
I love old chairs for their ergonomics. The chairs turned out to be very comfortable, and the modern upholstery breathed new life into old chairs. I'm sure they will last for decades.
