apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Have you tried one of thise iron-on repair kits that they advertise on late-nite TV?

id redo the whole thing, and repaint the metal. they sell this spray paint at the big box store and when you spray it the color disburses so it has this kinda washed spray look, don't know how to explain it but when you see it it will look very nice!

I wouldn't do a thing to it. The color now is great, and scavaging it from an auto store (which, now, is kind of obvious) makes a great story

Sometimes it's just better to have finds like these re-upholstered. As the daughter of an NY Italian upholsterer, I've seen many gross things living inside the foam of old chairs like these. It might be worth getting it cleaned out and redone. It shouldn't cost you too much since it's just one chair and the back is really simple. If you do end up deciding to get it redone, you might want to consider Naugahyde instead of vinyl. It tends to last longer because it's a little softer and more pliable.

I'd definitely consider reupholstering, but don't paint the metal! The patina is great.

I agree with michpc. Reupholster, but leave the metal. What a nice find!

What did you exchange for it?

How funny, i scored one last week at $6.

Why would you want this as decor? My dad is a mechanic, so I grew up around garages scooting around in these same heavy metal vinyl chairs and just don't see the appeal...I guess when you've seen them in every repair shop you've ever been in, they become average and typical....not 'industrial decor'. How would you ever get the grease and the smell out of it? I enjoy the smells of an auto repair shop (call me weird) but it is just weird to me that you would want this in your home so bad...
My dad has one in his garage...I should tell him this is in demand modern design! He would laugh....

Well it sure beats a plastic chair from WalMart....or a much more expensive and stylish alternative.

I have one of these, except mine has arm-rests... same color even!

I'd clean up the metal with some fine steel-wool. It's supposed to be brushed-aluminum, raw and unpainted. There's not even a finish on it.

I think the casters are replaceable too, which is cool because you can buy them colored!

Definitely pay someone to reupholster it, or -- if you're ambitious, pull the cushions and pads, replace the foam, and re-do ala this or this.

I have this exact chair - I found it at a local thrift store! I replaced the vinyl and polished up the legs with metal polish.

It's very easy to change out the vinyl and even add new foam - both cheaply available at JoAnn fabrics. The vinyl seat on mine was attached with clips that I pried off and later snapped back in. The top portion simply unscrews to change out the vinyl. Much simpler than trying to fix the tear, plus the brown wasn't my style.

Here are photos from my blog: http://redjetwhistle.blogspot.com/2008/08/redone-desk-chair.html

I think it's great. Is it Steelcase? Leather would be a lot nicer than vinyl.

These are Goodform chairs, made by General Fireproofing in Ohio before and after WWII. I just bought this same chair at a small town Salvation Army for $2 last weekend! Found this info:http://pastpresentfuture.net/archives/gf.html

Ive had hard luck repairing the backs of those chairs. Yours looks to be in good shape so I would not touch it and focus on the seat. The design of the chairs is such that the backs use crimped metal to hold the vinyl on. The bad news is that even most professional upholster-ers cannot uncrimp and recrimp the metal without breaking a few of the heads. If its just one or two the back plate will cover it well and a strong adheasive will hold it in place. But, if many of the heads break your may be unable to have it reupholstered correctly, leaving you the choice of simply using adheasive which wears over time. or leaving a plain metal top (which can be painted). If you can live with the green I'd advise leaving the back alone because you never know how many heads will break until you get into it.