I restored a tatty £80 sofa I got on Facebook – trolls say it looked better before but they need to trust the process
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SHE'S wanted a leather Chesterfield sofa "for years". So when a tatty old one popped up on Facebook for £80, Ashley jumped at the chance to get her hands on it. The white sofa had definitely seen better days, with scuffs and worn leather on the top and the sides.
![[Ashley paid £80 for this Chesterfield sofa someone was selling on Facebook]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/e7088611-aebc-4df6-ae12-386e3cee44e3.jpg?strip=all&w=576)
But Ashley decided to take on the challenge of restoring the furniture - and called it the "biggest trust the process ever" in a video on her TikTok page. She began by using a leather restoring filler to smooth out the damaged surfaces, but said her biggest mistake was not having any sandpaper to hand to sand it down in between.
![[But the leather had worn significantly in certain areas]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/6176136a-a784-4125-9a16-58cc8b5569f7.jpg?strip=all&w=576)
"But that's something I could absolutely fix in the future," she added. However, she just wanted to get the couch done as quickly as possible, and used about two thirds of the one ounce pot of putty to smooth it out before she started the painting process.
![[She filled it with a putty filler, before getting stuck in with the painting]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/72675a12-5065-44f6-b5c6-9a33856d668e.jpg?strip=all&w=576)
She then got her paint, and diluted it down with a clear finish, before she began liberally applying the paint. Ashley had picked it up in the shade 'Tobacco', but admitted she had wanted something the colour of the sofa when it was wet, and not dry. "But I can paint it again in the future if I really want to," she pointed out.
She had to work fast, and in sections, because the paint is water based, "super runny" and fast drying. "So if my painting looks a little chaotic, that's why," she laughed. " Like, I really just have to go quick, move on, come back to it. "Unfortunately, with a couch like this, there's a lot of creases and folds and crevices.
![[She admitted she panicked slightly, but had started on the back of the sofa so it wouldn't be seen if she messed it up]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/5d6914f5-f5c5-438b-abb3-b3048ca3c21d.jpg?strip=all&w=576)
