We'd like to think that if we spotted the faded Herman Miller chair on the left that we'd buy it with the plans to restore it. That's what Melissa and Adam did (scored the pair at a flea market for $10!). Their road to restoration after the jump.
Up-close "Before" image of the chair. Melissa said that the chairs were shedding fiberglass and they noticed the sun had bleached them from sitting outside too long. Although the couple had no idea how to restore this sort of chair, they purchased them anyway and went online for instructions. That effort landed them at Chairfag.com where they learned how to wet-sand and restore fiberglass. Melissa claims that if they can do it--anyone can... More pics of their process on their flickr photostream.
Related Restoring Furniture Posts
- How To: Restore A Fiberglass Shell Chair
- Good Questions: Make My Eames Glossy Again?
- SF Good Questions: Rejuvenating an Eames Shell Chair?
[Images from dzinelvrslc]
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this is awesome. i didn't even know you could restore the fiberglass.
fantastic results!
great deal and tips
love it!
OMG! I had nooooooooo idea that was possible!
Fabulous results!
i cam across that blog on how to restore the chairs and also how to change the rubber shock mounts for different bases a few months ago. Only thing now, is finding the chairs on the cheap...
Ooh - please wear more than just a dust mask (like they did) if you are going to undertake a similar project. You don't have to get a full-on respirator, but at least the next step up that fully seals around your nose and mouth. Fiberglass is not a good thing to breathe in.
Thanks everyone for the nice feedback.
Homebody, you are correct, however, the dust is pretty much non -existent when you do the wet sand, that's the critical piece. That is what Adam is doing with the large rubber bin, the chair is pretty submerged, and you are constantly spraying the chair and sanding it under water- having a partner is helpful at that point, since one person can keep a fine mist on the chair. That along with the mask, there was no detectable dust. It is also very important to wear the thick, long rubber gloves, as naturally, you don't want it in your skin either.
Happy chair hunting!
Great job! But does anyone know where to get new chair leg caps. I found some old HM chairs but all of them have at least one cap missing, which means topsy turvy seats that scratch my wood floor. Is this something I can find at the hardware store?
Try eBay!
I'm bookmarking this!
I accidently left a comment on the post restoring a fiberglass chair but I've bookmarked the site chair fag as I have vintage HM Eames shell chairs that could use a little minor TLC (read, simple cleaning).
I do have an office shell arm chair that's yellow with a painted gray outside (flat) and it's HM and has the label on the bottom that needs a little more TLC than the side chairs in white that I use in my dining room.