love a job once it's done

Ages ago, we picked up a set of 4 dining chairs - Parker model #26, 1963 - a design we really love, and had not had before.  They came with a table (which we restored and soon re-homed though the shop), but the chairs were in extremely pre-loved condition.

All the frames were pretty loose, the upholstery had holes, and those fantastic 'spade' backrests had serious damage to their veneers.  If they weren't the best-looking chairs in the world, we might have given up ...

We re-glued the frames so they were all as strong as new, but have been totally stuck since then on what to do ... re-covering the seats is no problem, but the damaged backs were beyond our abilities to repair (and the cost of getting an outsider to re-veneer would make the chairs unsellably pricey), so they have been resting in the shed for months.
This week, inspiration struck - refinish the backs in matte-black enamel and see how they look ...

 So we stripped the seats and re-covered them in a nice full-grain leatherette, then got to work on smoothing out the spades ...

And, of course, polishing up the rest of the frames ...

After a whole lot of sanding and smoothing, the time has come.  Found a nice low-sheen black enamel paint, which would conceal the sins of the past, and a big roll of masking-tape to protect what needs it, and set to painting ...

We gave them 7 coats over 24-hours, and were really excited to find that the grain texture of the timber shows through the enamel.  Bit more sanding, and polishing the backs, and it's time to re-assemble.

We're really happy with the result ... now the only problem is going to be parting with them ... still, they're going into the shop today, so we'll see.