How to makeover Old Rustic Bar Stool using spray paint

I often break the first rule of thrifting:
“Buy it when you find it.”
I can’t tell you how many times I do this.

You would think when something costs $12 bucks – it wouldn’t be a tough decision. Sometimes it just is.
That was the case with this bar-like stool.

I saw this little baby over a week prior to buying it. Once I saw it though,
I COULDN’T GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD.
I went back and THIS TIME, I was lucky enough that it was still there.

By the way, you know you’ve scored when you are walking around the thrift shop and another person says to you – “That’s a unique piece.”
However, this project turned out to be far more laborious than I anticipated.
(It’s becoming a trend I fear.)

I had no problem taking it apart and washing the frame.

TIP: I love when I find pieces at thrift that are obviously easy to take apart. Someone had fixed this themselves at some point and the screws were all that was holding the seat in place. But it was still rock solid.

I did test for lead because I didn’t know how old it was. (It was ok.)
I really had to sand the old chipping paint as much as possible.
(I still wore a mask too.)

I rinsed and dried it again after that.
I tell you all this detail because while the primer went on fine, when I sprayed it with paint, blistering happened in certain areas. I’ve had this happen before but it fixed itself as it dried.

In this case, that DID NOT HAPPEN.
After it dried fully, I gently sanded the rough areas, wiped it down and sprayed again.
Blisters in the same spots.

I’ll be honest. I had to call in my personal Queen of DIY (i.e. Mom) and check with a few other friends, including Google, to get opinions. What it comes down to is – well – we’re not quite sure.

The closest guess was that some type of oil based paint or oil got on it at some point.
(Truth? It was just fighting me.)
I couldn’t let it go. After lightly spraying and sanding (I used a finishing sanding block as well as some finishing steel wool.) and letting it dry over night between coats – the stool frame looked pretty good.
I used a flat soft iron color and that helped hide some of the roughness too.
(Gloss will show all.)
And really, it is a rustic stool, so I’m ok with some inconsistencies.

Speaking of rough.
The seat was SOOOO rough.
It’s really a story for another time.
(It qualifies for a Lessons Learned post actually.) Let’s just say for now, it also ended up pretty rustic.

In the end, it’s a pretty cool little bar stool that fits in my kitchen wherever I need it!

Isn’t it quirky? And, I can update the seat again whenever I want.

And even though I had to fight through some issues, it turned out to be as great as I imagined.
No wonder I couldn’t get it out of my head!
Btw before you leave, I have few cool offers for you, ( I think)