I left off last week with the progress I’d made sanding off the paint and primer from what were looking like gorgeous chairs.

I was boasting to Calah about how I have X-ray vision through the computer screen. This, of course, was before I had found the MCM wood table that turned out to be cheap IKEA MDF with plastic veneer that was all bubbly and that smelled like weed. You know, the project I wrote about a few weeks ago. But my pride had not yet been so challenged and theretofore not by this project.

But that changed.

I encountered the first problem that looked like it could make this project fail. And that problem was gooey stuff and wood veneer. It’s good that I took pictures because I still don’t know what it is.

I was using my Makita palm sander that I’ve had for a couple decades with 60-grit sandpaper to get this off quickly. It’s been reliable if not cumbersome due its cord and annoying sandpaper clamps. It has a fixed speed of 14,000 RPMs. So for it to get stuck on this was new to me.

My experience was that the fast-moving sandpaper heated up a hardened glue that turned into goo. That goo then gummed up the sandpaper. Repeatedly.

But the good news was that the it looked like there was nice wood underneath.

I worked hard to get all this goo off, but that effort led to tearing through what turned out to be wood veneer. I had had a little experience with that the side table project I’d written about last year, so I wasn’t happy when I destroyed the veneer, but by then it was too late. So was I more careful with the other chair? Well, no. Getting the goo off was the priority.

But the good news was that I was able to save the majority of what looks like a pretty encouraging back.

More challenges next week.