Hello, When our son was getting to the school age era, we wanted to decorate his room to give him a place to store his art stuff, as well as his almost everyday storage bin for odds and ends. No, we were not giving him a “throw it in so we can’t see it” scenario. We gave him some small plastic boxes with lids and without to use as dividers for his everyday stuff. We knew our local school district was going to have a “excess property sale” as some places do to get rid of old school items. For them it was a two day event that had almost everything for anyone to use. No broken stuff, but, just old stuff that was well worn and left unattended for years in a giant storage warehouse. We got there early and when we saw the flip open desk, that was the one. A little chrome polish and a little cleaning and it would be like new. A perfect storage unit and a great writing/drawing surface. He fit in the seat perfectly and could swivel in/out any time. Jnaki After I got it home, I sanded the steel part and prepped it for some colorful paint. The wood part got the same prep and was coated with polyurethane epoxy. When it was finished, it sat between two bookshelves in his room, facing the outside window. The wooden surfaces got the clear Polyurethane coating for a smooth surface and almost impervious surface protection, if he did not use a sharp compass. Even if he did, the hard surface would withstand many "circle" moments. Note: I originally painted it black and had yellow flames, with blue outlines on both sides. There was another one of a different kind in the stack of desks. It was exactly like the ones in the photo. We decided that we needed another desk/storage area in his room when the friend across the street came over for a visit, which he did on a daily basis. Now, both kids would have refinished table top, desks for their artwork, writing and if so, doing school work. The odd thing is, so many years later, the retail giant, Amazon, sells a new version of the 30 + year old design. Note 2: When our son moved out to live with some friends in an apartment, it was typical late teens through the early 20s and typical household. In the main living area was a large TV with it hooked up to various games. But, taking up the dining room area, was a large, standard size pool table. Not only was it a refurbished pool table with a nice green felt surface, but it was painted black. Our son is/was an artist with some great skills. But, he always said it was a hobby and not a lifelong job future. Somehow, he remembered the old school desk I had painted and refurbished for him when he was a little kid. He painted some large red/yellow/orange faded flames on the black surface of the base of the pool table. It looked great and was the first thing my wife and I saw when we visited one day. It was and has been the only set of flames he has painted, ever… Too bad, he had great skills and would have been a great graphic novel developer, artist, and writer… We enjoyed the visit and did not take photos, due to not wanting to be inquisitive parents or pushing our lives into his...during this phase of the future... YRMV
The Jalopy Journal
