A $20 Wrought Iron Bistro Table

I have a thing for wrought iron furniture.  You have probably figured that out by now....right?

I was checking out the 'stuff' on FaceBook Marketplace and found a wrought iron bistro table without the top.  It originally had a glass top but now it was just the wrought iron table base. But that isn't the end of the world and Pier 1 has glass rounds in stock. 

But before I checked out Pier 1 (around 50 bucks for a 30 inch), I checked out our stash of glass tops.  R picks them up whenever he sees them at the curb on trash days.  We have square pieces, rectangle pieces, and of course round pieces.  But unfortunately our stash was void of a 30 inch round.  No worries....I have other ideas...LOL

Here is the table that I bought for 20 bucks.  The round stock is larger than normal and the welds and the way they terminated the ends means it was a quality manufacturer.  I didn't see any embossed maker marks like Woodard but Woodard did use stickers on some of their pieces.

First thing that I did was use my brass bristle brush to clean and remove any dirt or rust.  Then I flipped the table over and put it on the saw horses and my piece of painting plywood/luan.  It's a thinner piece of plywood so it is easy to haul out for painting or working on a project.  

I always paint the bottom first and I always paint my wrought iron pieces satin black.  The satin is less reflective so it appears darker.  Satin is also the finish that the manufacturers use.  Satin finish still has a little sheen and it looks so much better than the garish shiny semi or high gloss finishes.

After the bottom is painted I flip it over and paint the top side.  I also always paint in the shade.  This allows the paint to dry slower and I can see my missed spots better when in the shade because there is less glare coming off the wet paint.

I searched the barn for chairs, in between the coats of paint on the table. I found two white wrought iron chairs with bright yellow vinyl seat cushions.  We didn't buy these chairs.  R found them at the curb. I remembered when he brought them home.  I thought to myself "nice chairs but that yellow isn't going to work...at all." Then we stored them in the barn until they were found again, 5 or 6 years later.

The first thing that I did was remove the padded cushion.  I was really hoping that there was a wire mesh seat underneath the cushion but sadly no.  But the more I looked at the chairs the more I liked the shape and style of them.  I can always have the seats recovered.  I would do it myself but there is vinyl piping around the edge and I really like that detail.

So here is the table and chairs painted.  The chairs are actually very comfortable but that yellow is just not going to work at all.  I am going to search for vinyl fabric and see what is out there.  I need something that will work with the two patterned fabrics that I have picked out for the patio sofa and chairs.  

Morrie approved.

But so far I have just 20 bucks invested and I would love to keep the entire project under 50 bucks. Tomorrow is forecasted for thunderstorms all day so nothing will happen concerning the table top.  But it will be a perfect day to look for vinyl fabric at the fabric stores.  Wish me luck.

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