Swinging

30 years ago Walt Kowalski and his brothers and sister bought their mom a porch swing.  She loved it.  Used it every day until she passed away.  Several moves, and storages later, the swing landed on Walt Kowalski's porch.  Several more moves and storages later, the swing found a new home on the front porch of Walt Kowalski's daughter's house.  
 
She was pleased to have her grandmother's swing and use it everyday.
 
Every time we visited, I admired the swing, but it also made me a little sad.  Although she used it and enjoyed it, the swing needed a little love.  It needed a little TLC.  J

So as an early birthday present, I commandeered the swing and brought it to the Cat Ranch. 

I started with a good scrubbing and power washing (warshing).  It was dirty after years of weather. 

 
The cleaning helped tremendously.  A day in the sun to dry and I was ready to sand.  Next came a day of sanding and gluing.  I started with a course grit and ended with a fine grit.  I couple of the back slats needed glued. 

 
Walt Kowalski said the original color was cedar, so that's what I picked.  But when I opened the can of stain, it looked really orange.  Too orange.  I had a moment of panic I picked the wrong color.

 
But the bright orange was absorbed by the wood and the color is perfect.  {big sigh}

 
Here you can see the difference between the unfinished back slats and the first coat on the seat.  It looks very nice. 

 
Up close the difference is even more dramatic. 

Another sanding before the second coat of stain is next on the agenda.  The stain is actually a stain AND weatherproofing all-in-one. 

I like it.  Walt Kowalski liked it.  I hope Walt Kowalski's daughters like it.  I hope mom (grandma) approves, too.