I've Been Benched

First off, I need to thank everyone for their input on my last post. There were some really great suggestions, including one that has really started to evolve in my head... so we'll see where that goes!

Now, for an update on the pew. The last I showed you, our bench was looking like this...

Well, I've been a busy bee, taking every opportunity that I can to get out there and strip it clean of the two layers of paint. 

After some stripping and then letting it dry out, B went at it with a random orbital sander and a belt sander to get rid of some of the leftover paint.

What did we discover when B hit some of the parts of the pew that had not been touched by the stripper? The paint would've come straight off really easily had we just sanded it from the start and skipped stripping completely. Yeaaaa.... so had we done that, we would've saved some money AND probably have all of the paint sanded off by now. However, as it currently sands, we still have some work ahead of us to get the rest of the paint off...

I am frustrated knowing that we could be in the refinishing stage already if we (read: I!) had just attempted sanding before stripping.

While sanding B also discovered that the back of our pretty pew is solid cedar - a very nice cedar, and he's intent on staining it. I on the other hand, am not completely convinced. After reading Jen's comment on my last post, I'm pretty sure I'd like to do something two toned (pulling colours from our end chairs at the dining table). Something along the lines of this pew, or this one. B and I will continue to discuss this.

So, with the progress we have made so far I am still hoping to have this project (as well as a few others I have started), completed before our house guests arrive later this month! I also believe that now that we've been in our West Coast home for over a year, I owe you some updated pictures of our spaces! Hope to start snapping some photos one space at a time once I get them cleaned up. 

Have you been working on any projects recently that seem never ending? Maybe you've had a frustrating experience with something you are trying to tackle?