Tag Archives: school desk

Vintage School Desk Transformation #3!!! American Seating Company Desk Gets A Facelift

I found this beauty scanning Craigslist in late winter or early spring and it was listed under furniture as “student desk.”  I was pleasantly surprised to find a vintage school desk in such great shape when I clicked the link.  The ad said the owner knew nothing about it and was asking for an offer.  I really wanted that desk so I offered him $35 cash, which he accepted immediately and I knew I should have started lower.  Oh well, after that I saw listing for very poor condition desks like this going for much more so I was not upset.

We picked it up and were glad to see all the great features it had.  The chair slides forward and back and swivels.  The desk has two different upright positions and it was in great shape.  Now I just wanted to repaint and refinish the seat so I had to decide on colors. I chose a gloss gray Rustoleum paint in a can and a red gloss Rustoleum paint that I used both spray and paint on versions.  For the seat, I sanded and then used a Minwax Polyshades all in one stain and varnish.    I love the way it turned out.  What do you think?

Here is the picture on Craigslist:

student desk copy

 

Here I am in the middle of painting, I was painting the inside, which I sprayed.

reddesk7

reddesk8

Nice and fresh and clean and pay attention to the quality tools I am using. That is a bonafide stick holding the desk at the proper angle for maximum coverage.

reddesk1

Here is the desk after refinishing the wood in one of the upright positions. It was very sunny so please excuse all the glare.

 

This is the desk in the other height for the elevated top.

This is the desk in the other height for the elevated top.

 

Sun in his eyes.

Sun in his eyes.

 

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reddesk6

About the desk:

 

As I was painting I found the patent in many places and on the portion of the top that holds it in the 2 different upright positions I found this stamped in the metal.

reddesk

 

It is from the American Seating Company and is a Model Ten Twenty for which you can see an original ad below.  The desk was from the 1950s.

reddeskad

 


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Vintage School Desk Make Over, Before & After!!!

Well, I finished another project today.  I finished what I showed you the before of last week, the big school desk.  It was one that I had as a child, but had been sitting in a basement for years and years and needed love and vision.  I really wish I had all of the school desks we had but lucky that I have a small one that I refinished and if you missed it you can check that out HERE, and this one.  I also bought another that I should have done before the week is over and that desk is a different style entirely.  Cannot wait to share it with you.

For this desk, I started by sanding everything,  starting with the metal which I did with a special wire brush tool that goes on the end of a drill and makes easy work of microderm abrasion as I like to call it.  After that, I sanded all the wood and then needed to do some filling, gluing and clamping.  After that it was time to prime the metal and I used Rustoleum Painter’s Touch Gray Primer and then I used a Rustoleum Green Gloss Protective Enamel Spray Paint for the final coats. I did the detail painting and the accent strip on the seat and pencil holder on the desk with the same green protective enamel by Rustoleum in the can so I could brush it on. I stained the wood with Minwax Special Walnut, sanding between coats and then used Minwax Satin Polyurethane, sanding between coats.  I really like it and so do my kids.  What do you think?

big desk before

So sad before picture

The Before

The Before

Priming the metal, don't mind the huge mess I work in with all my stuff. I also recycle old tablecloths as drop cloths.

Priming the metal, don’t mind the huge mess I work in with all my stuff. I also recycle old tablecloths as drop cloths.

Big Desk2

 

Big Desk 1


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Restoration Of A Vintage Little School Desk–A Labor of Love!!!

My father was a great man and he had a very successful career as an Engineer.  With his own business he designed and built churches, schools, industrial buildings, custom homes and much more.  More than once he brought home some school desks (quite a few) of various sizes.  They were mostly in pristine condition and having several I had my own classroom for my dolls and bears in my playroom.

The desks got shuffled between our lake house and our full-time home.  I know at one point when I had the first of my kids I had one brought up here but it remained in the basement of the lake house.  Several years ago I bought paint and had every intention of freshening it up but it never happened.  2 more kids happened and at some point it must have become damp or wet and rust happened.

However, I was steadfast in my determination and added it to my great list of projects.  Friday afternoon I unearthed it from my garage.  Yikes!  It was sad, and in very rough condition but I had a vision.  My husband also gave me some tools to achieve my vision.  First I went over the whole thing with a wire brush and next my husband gave me a very powerful drill with a circular metal bristle whosiawatzit that just like magic buffed and grinded that rust away and left me with bare metal to work with.

schooldesk

 

schooldesk1

 

After rust removal and primer.

After rust removal and primer.

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First coat of paint and sanding in progress.

We added some wood glue where there was a little bit of separation in some of the wood layers and yes, we are being funny with all the clamps.

We added some wood glue where there was a little bit of separation in some of the wood layers and yes, we are being funny with all the clamps.

Started drizzling (never amounted to anything) while I was staining and so I had to move to the garage.

Started drizzling (never amounted to anything) while I was staining and so I had to move to the garage.

schooldesk8

schooldesk9

schooldesk10

After it was cleaned up, I applied a primer.  Let that dry, that was Friday night.  Saturday which was a busy day because it was Ethan’s birthday, I applied a coat of high gloss gray Rustoleum paint.  Then today, Sunday, I sanded the seat and backrest.  I taped and applied a second coat of paint, then stained the seat and backrest and applied a coat of polyurethane.  

The completed project only took a few hours in total between late Friday afternoon and late Sunday afternoon.  The poly is drying and I will bring it inside in about an hour to get some nicer pictures.  I am really proud to have this memory of mine in my house, to be used by my little ones.  It truly was a labor of love and it was amazing to breathe some new life into a tired, sad, little desk. 

This is the first of many projects I have planned.  So stay tuned for lots of transformations of all kinds.  Okay, off to add some felt feet and bring this baby inside.  I will update with a picture soon of the finished project.


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