Wooden bench - step by step reconditioning

Years ago I bought a bench made of resin with an antique walnut finish. Last year in the fall, we made changes to the house and decided that the bench would fit much better outside, along with a couple of stumps as side tables. The problem was that the bench's interior finish would not stand up to the conditions outside with rain, wind and sun. The wooden bench remained outside, covered with a tarp, until last week. But for some time now, influenced by apost, I thought it could do with a makeover as well as exterior protection.

So I got to work. I prepared the necessary materials (abrasive sponges, cloths, brushes, varnish and white paste), called my colleagues (Florin - finishing specialist and Anamaria - photographer and operator) and we got to work.

I knew very well what the bench was going to look like - a slightly creamy white, rustic chic. The full white lacquer coating came with two advantages. I could get protection on the outside without the need for complete stripping and I could use the original walnut colour of the bench for the rustic chic effect.

The exterior waterborne varnish is compatible with the nitro finish used in the past to finish the bench, but the bench had to be sanded and degreased very well to get adhesion. Over time it has been cleaned with Pronto-type products and to avoid the formation of craters because of the wax in such products, it was sanded with medium grit abrasive sponges and 240 grit sandpaper.

According to grinding, the bench was stripped with clean cotton cloths.

Like I said, I wanted the bench to be creamy white without having a particular colour in mind, like RAL or NCS. I got the color by putting white paste in the colorless varnish because the exterior varnish has a pinkish color due to UV absorption and slightly changes the white of the paste. It is a very viscous varnish with a very high thixotropy. It is formulated for spray application, vertically, and for brush application it was necessary to dilute it with water at the rate of 10-15%.

As one coat was not enough to cover the walnut colour of the bench, two coats were applied with no sanding in between and with the first coat taking less than an hour, the light wind helping a lot. To dry the second coat we waited more than 2 hours. The next operation required deep drying.

To get to rustic chic we antiqued Bank i.e. I sanded it along the edges, through the places where it was supposed to have been used most, until I got to the walnut colored layer. Abrasive sponges with 120 grit were used to remove the coloured layer more easily.

Sanding should be done carefully and as naturally as possible. For example, for handles and other rounded areas where the hand is usually held, sanding should be done in circular motions, mimicking natural movements, as in the video below.

Sitting areas (seats, backs, edges) are supposed to be the first to lose their colour as they are heavily used. This is where the sanding is done more intensively, with constant care taken to ensure that the appearance is natural.

After antiquing, a light sanding was done with 320-grit sandpaper to remove any roughness and two coats of clear exterior varnish were applied with a brush.

The varnish is necessary to protect the rustic effect and for outdoor protection. Application was done in the same way as white varnish, with a flash-off time between coats of 45-60 minutes.

After all these operations and a day's work, the bank looked like this.

I was very pleased with the result and as you have seen, I am already preparing my place for my morning coffee. What do you guys think, was it worth the effort?