Ice Cream Parlor Of Yesteryear

Antique Soda Fountain Parlor Set Reclaimed by SK Sartell

As I started to clear over a century's worth of paint and rust, I discovered the chairs have a copper coating. I'm not sure why. Maybe for strength?

The rust and neglect have scoured the metal finish and I am finding it difficult to sand away the pock marks left from rust.

The three precious ice cream parlor chairs have been saved and gently carried around for years. One of these chairs has the original  A. H. Anderson Manufacturing from Chicago logo on the bottom. You rarely see original seats.
A.H Anderson Manufacturing, Chicago 1889.

You can read the owners account and astounding history of these chairs and the table here:
   
http://sksartell.blogspot.com/2014/07/heidis-ice-cream-parlor-history.html


Each chair has 35 pieces to take off, remove a hundred plus years of paint and reinstall. The bolts would not budge. It was suggested they be cut off and replace with new carriage bolts. We had to use a penetrating oil to loosen the decades of rust on the bolts.
http://www.liquidwrench.com/  penetrating oil.
A.H Anderson Manufacturing, Chicago 1889.
The heavy duty hand twisted metal was primed with a rust inhibitor and then painted with Rustoleum paintRustoleum Paint

Each chair and the table needed new wooden inserts. Each was treated with a marine varnish for outdoor durability. When each one was finished being painted, I used another two coats of marine varnish. This should last them another one hundred years or so....



I sanded the wood smooth and using a crackle medium applied a first coat. When dry I painted them with an off white latex paint.
While waiting for this paint coat to dry, I headed to my computer and designed the graphics. My client wasn't necessarily looking for an original look but the feel of an old ice cream parlor.


 
 I am and will never be a perfectionist. I love a piece which looks hand done. 

Perfect circles are tough. So it is what it is. I taped off around the circumference of the edge. Drawing a circle with a small tack centered in the table as a guide. I tie a string on the tack and a pencil on the end of the length of the string. Pulling the string tight I am able to make a circular drawing on the tape. I then use a razor knife and cut the tape on the line. Removing the outside of the tape gives me a stencil for a border.

The type font is called Abbott Old Style. I printed this out in two pieces. I used a graphite pencil to color the back of the lettering and then transferred it to my surface by hand drawing over the letters.


 Using painters tape laid out the diamond pattern.  I could now paint using this as another stencil.


The ice cream cone is a hand-cut stencil.

The red borders are several coats of different reds with crackle medium in between coats of paint. This makes the surface look like old leather.

I  finish with several coats of clear marine varnish.





This client is the most fun. She loves a good story and now she has another piece to fit this sets story.














Getting comfortable in their new home.

http://pinelodgelabradoodles.com/

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