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DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please, I am begging you do not even attempt to stain this chair. This chair in it's original colors are classics for a reason. Even if you could do a perfect job staining a black chair white, it doesn't mean it is something you should do. Leave it alone or if it really bothers you that much - sell it and buy the white one.

I wouldn't touch it. If you really want the white, sell it on ebay and buy the white one.

Going from black stain to white on laminated plywood? I have a feeling this experiment would probably end very, very badly.

If you really want a white LCW, I second what Chairgal said and sell the black one. The return on these chairs is quite high on eBay, so you most likely won't have to spend much money to make up the difference in price.

It'll never happen.

Just sell it and buy the white one, and have done with it.

I am guessing that your chair is stained and you will need to remove that?

Trying to sand plywood that has been stained will mean you will burn through the veneer by the time you have removed the stain.

Given the dark color of this chair I would not even recommend trying to paint it - you will need to use major primer to cover up the black and will probably end up with a thick coat that will take forever to dry and will never look quite right. Once you've trashed the chair any resale value will also be gone. As the other commenters point out, sell it and get another one.

Definitely don't do it. If it's in good condition I bet you can sell it for %80 of the original retail. Take the small hit, save a beautiful chair, and get yourself a new white one.

is this a real question?

i agree... you would have to sand the chair down to a toothpick to get the black stain off, then to get into all of the crevices, etc.

sell the chair and buy a new white one.

I think I'm having heart palpitations after reading that question. Please, don't even go there!

To answer your question: Take the chair apart. Sand and sand and sand. Then wipe it down with a proper refinishing solvent (athough naptha will do). Then prime it with Kiltz primer - it's made for taking dark to light - but it takes forever to dry - that's okay as you're building a new base for the new finish to adhere to. Lightly sand the primer (1200 grit oughta do it). Paint this thing with three coats of white. SAND BETWEEN COATS. Put the chair back together and it will now look like an Eames knock off.

NO! Just sell it and buy the white!

Noooooooo!!!!

Donate it to ME!!

I'll bet Anthony is giggling in a corner somewhere at all the agita he has caused among the design afficionado community. For shame, Anthony!

Go to Residence in Williamsburg. Buy their cheap knock-off in brown. Paint with a good quality oil-based primer. Then paint two finish coats using Fine Paints of Europe oil-based paint. Otherwise, bite the bullet and buy the white-stained version from Herman Miller.

throw some d's on that bitch

I think I might cry... :(

if one more negative comment makes a difference - no! it can't be done easily, maybe not even at all. maybe someone would swap their white for your black?

I guess one option is to ignore what everyone else says and sand the chair down down anyway. Then buy the white one that you wanted in the first place once the black one is ruined.

I think you should go ahead and ruin the chair. It's not so expensive that it can't be replaced and you're better off experimenting with this chair than a really expensive piece!

:)

Seriously though, it would be near impossible to refinish the chair and retain the wood grain texture... not a good DIY project.

JohhnySlimane--
That made me laugh out loud.

Seriously though, is there even such a thing as "white stain"? I think not.

The best you'd end up with would be a "limed" looks if you wiped thinned down white paint on to maintain the grain. Otherwise, you're looking at a white painted finish, and on a piece like this, I'd veer farther away from DIY than I typically do. And that's FAR.

Sorry, p(too), your doubts are unfounded. From DIY Network:

White stains are widely available in water-based or oil-based forms.

That's still no reason for trying to use one to refinish a black-stained chair made of laminated plywood. Stain is absorbed by the wood -- you can't just sand it off. On wood that thin, the black stain certainly penetrated the entire pretty top layer with the grain. The deal with plywood is that the inner layer doesn't have a nice grain, and the grain runs the opposite direction to the top layer anyway, so if you sand down that far, you've ruined the chair.

Agree with everyone's recommendation...save yourself the headache and buy a white one (if it is available).

the white ones are 700 something. they will be available shortly. sell your blackone, and put that towad the purchase of the new one. you can probably get 400.00, not to mention the time and supplies you spend on the pice, that will put you around 200 dollars to refinish it properly. so, you are saving a $100 dollars, while ruining a licensed piece and making it worth basically nothing. Buy a new white one, and get rid of the black one. just eat the cost.

yeah... I'm not even sure if you sand this thing to hell and back that you'll get the black off. It's a precatalyzed laquer/finish that Herman Miller puts on the things - its designed to STAY ON. And even if you did get most of the black off you would have to then PAINT it white - you will never (and I mean NEVER) achieve the look of the actual white stained ones.

Stain is a mainly translucent colorant - if you have missed any of the black laquer (and you will) -it will show through. Not to mention that by the time you get all the man-hours logged in for sanding the damn thing you will have already blown in labor costs the difference of selling that one and buying a new one.

Oh yeah, availability on the white ones is $745 through Design Within Reach. Its a special order so you have to ask for it - they dont have it in the showroom.

For $749 through Highbrow Furniture, you can get one. And they have free shipping, which is always a plus.

http://www.highbrowfurniture.com/seating/products/lcw_chair/

wende--
I guess a matter of semantics.

That type of "stain" (which they call whitewashing in that link) is what I think of as liming.

My point was you can't "stain" a black chair white.

You can also purchase them directly from the Eames Office.

I LOVE THE NYC version of Apartment Therapy!
So many knowledgable/passionate folks.....like a hundred loving Aunts and Uncles- for free!
What could be better.

As a Furniture Designer and Maker - I couldn't agree more w/ the general vibe.....You'll never get anything close to a look that you'll be happy with.

Maybe with a Spray Booth/a HVLP sprayer, and some other tricks - but since Times=$$$$$...as they say...fuuugadabout it!!

Sell the Black Eames and purchase a new White one.

http://www.kramerdesignstudio.com

Yes, stain is simply not in the cards here. And when they paint them white to start with, they're not painting over black, and neither should you, or there will be heartbreak ahead.

NooOOoOooOOoOooOoO !
don't do it ! please no ! ahah

aleks,
looking for Eames stuff...:)
k_alessandro@yahoo.fr