This captain’s chair was sitting outside in the rain at my chiropractor’s office waiting to go into the skip. During my treatment, I mentioned the chair to him and asked if I could have the chair to practice on.  I had never restored a Captain’s chair before and thought it would be good practice for me. If l failed I had lost nothing but my time and the chair could continue its journey to the tip.

Because I am self-taught, I like to find projects like this that help me to learn new skills.  In my opinion, you are willing to try new techniques when there is no risk of losing money. The knowledge you pick up from taking them apart and figuring out how they go back together will help you with other projects.  This project turned out so good I was able to sell for a very good profit.

It is also time for our next blog hop for  ‘Do It Over’ Designers. We are a group of bloggers who come together to share our latest recycle/upcycle/DIY project. Be sure to visit the other talented bloggers who are participating this month in the links at the end of this post.

How to restore a Captain’s Chair

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Because this was a practice project, I did not take step-by-step pictures.  But I can share with you what I learned along the way and maybe it can help you with your next project.  This was the captain’s chair when I brought it home, I don’t think there was any section of the chair that was not damaged.

Taking the captain’s chair apart

I started by removing the chair seat from the lift mechanism with the legs attached. They are usually held together with a few screws or bolts. Most chairs I have taken apart have had some fabric underneath to make the bottom look tidy and hide all the screws and bolts. You may need to remove this fabric to get access to them. 

Once you removed the lift mechanism you will have access to the screws that hold the wooden spindle section to the seat.  You can remove these screws so the wooden section can be removed.

Next, I removed the old copper studs which held the leather for the backrest in place.  This then gave me access to the screws holding the backrest to the wooden section. The chair came apart in 4 pieces, the base, the seat, the spindles and the headrest.  

Restoring the wood

I personally, would never recommend sanding all these spindles by hand because it is too time-consuming.  I did them all by hand with a soft sanding block which took me forever. If you choose to use an electric sander there is a good chance you will damage the shape of the spindles.

Before

In hindsight, I should have used a paint stripper such as Citri-strip. To use Citri-strip, you put the stripper on the spindles, wrap some saran wrap around it, and leave it to sit for about 12 hours.  Once all the varnish has softened you can use a paint scraper to scrape the old varnish off. To remove the leftover residue I use warm soapy water and a scrubbing brush and then leave to wood to dry outside in the sun.

To hydrate the wood you can add some furniture oil to the surface using a soft cloth rubbing in a circular motion. I reapplied the oil and left the wood to sit for a few days to dry. Next, I stained the wood using a dark mahogany stain which I sealed with two coats of oil-based polyurethane. 

After

Repairing the wheels in the captain’s chair

The wheels were cast iron but they were rusted and would not roll. I soaked them in some Coke Cola for a few hours. Next, you can use some tin foil scrunched up into a ball to rub off the rust. I resprayed the wheels with chrome spray paint to make them look new again.

The chairlift mechanism was also rusted tight and did not work. I used some WD-40 and some fine steel wool to get it moving again and added some grease to stop the squeaking. 

Recovering the backrest

The foam of the back support was still in good shape apart from the one corner. I started by removing all the buttons and removing the studs that held the fabric in place. The fabric can then be removed and used as a rough guide for the new leather. I cut a new piece of leather at least 15cm bigger l so I had some excess.

I bought some blank buttons that you can cover, covering them with leather was not the easiest job but got there in the end. To smooth out the damaged corner I used a thin piece of wadding which I attached with spray adhesive. 

I started in the middle and worked my way out making sure I folded the excess leather into a fold. The fold will help the leather sit tidily around the buttons.  To secure the buttons I used a long upholstery needle to pull the thread through the holes and stapled them at the back. The arms screwed off from below so they were very easy to cover too. 

I used one piece of leather I just added a fold in the fabric. This gave the chair a nicer look with added buttons to hold the leather in place. Next, I stapled the leather to the base and cut away the excess fabric. I will add the studs later to hide the staples.

Replacing the foam on the seat

The foam on the captain’s chair was totally destroyed so I cut a new piece from an old camping mattress. To cover the seat you will need a piece of leather big enough to cover the seat surface with enough overhang to staple it below. The front of my chair was wood but it was also in very poor condition.  I added two coats of varnish even though I was covering the wood.  I do this because it fills in all the old holes from the staples that were removed.  This will give you a better surface for the new staples to attach to. 

I cut a section of leather to the correct size and shape and used some brass studs to keep it in place. I did change the design of the front because the wood was so damaged. 

Adding new studs

The old studs were beyond saving.  So I splashed out on new studs which took my chair from drab to fab in minutes. They were so easy to use and because they bend, shaping them around the chair was easy. The studs will also hide all the staples giving a beautiful finish.

Putting the chair back together

First, I screwed the headrest into the wooden section from below. You will need a small screwdriver to get access from below. You will need a long piece of leather for the section between the seat and the legs.  Staple the leather around the base top before you screw on the wood spindle section. Next, pull down the leather and staple the other side to the underneath of the seat. Lastly, I added the front section, which will hide the staples used to attach the leather to the seat base.

I took this picture outside because the light inside did not do the colour of the captain’s chair justice.

Here are some before and after comparisons of the restored vintage captain’s chair.

It’s time for more ideas and my friends have lots of them for you.  Be sure to visit them and see what they’ve been upcycling/recycling/DIYing.  Here are the links:

Southern Sunflowers

Unique Creations by Anita

My Hubbard Home

Sum of Their Stories

The Apple Street Cottage

Birdz of a Feather

Exquisitely Unremarkable

Little Vintage Cottage

Modern on Monticello

Pandora’s Box

Purple Hues & Me

Tea and Forget-Me-Nots

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Please feel free to leave a comment and share this post. If you are in need of any of the products in this post please can you use my links to buy them at no extra cost to yourself?  The small commission I earn helps with the costs to run this site.Please feel free to leave a comment and share this post. If you are in need of any of the products in this post please can you use my links to buy them at no extra cost to yourself?  The small commission I earn helps with the costs to run this site.Please feel free to leave a comment and share this post. If you are in need of any of the products in this post please can you use my links to buy them at no extra cost to yourself?  The small commission I earn helps with the costs to run this site.Please feel free to leave a comment and share this post. If you are in need of any of the products in this post please can you use my links to buy them at no extra cost to yourself?  The small commission I earn helps with the costs to run this site.