apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Great chair, but where did that groovy, campfire throw pillow come from? That is hilariously great! :)

I've restored a few of these - some that were really rain and sun damaged.

Give it a really light sanding with a fine sandpaper and apply Penetrol with a clean rag (let it soak for 5 or 10 minutes and then wipe it off - do this 3 to 5 times) - you can buy it Home Depot in the paint section.

It will soak in, condition the fiberglass and help seal it. It will be shiny and bring out the color and help disguise those scrathes.

Afterwards, when its really dry - it'll take a day or so - you can wax it with any kind of boat wax for fiberglass and buff it out if you really want it to shine.

Moepong -- Thank you!! That is exactly the advice I needed.

Swanygirl74 -- www.gama-go.com Love these guys.

Thanks mjoe and I wish you the best on your chair!

Oh, send in the 'after' pictures if you can/want. It would be great to see the outcome.

I agree with moepong. Sand then Penetrol. If the scratches are deep you could start with 150, 220 then finish with 400. I don't think you need to do anything after applying the Penetrol, it's a nice finish as is.

One more thing, make sure you where a mask and old clothes and a long sleeve shirt. Sanding fiberglass is nasty, gets everywhere and it's scratchy.

You can also take it to an auto-body shop and have them apply a clearcoat to it.

Ha!
What luck! We bought a black shell with damage this weekend too!
Thanks!

There's a really good photo-tutorial of the Penetrol process here:
http://chairfag.com/?p=3

Love the G-Go pillow! (That's my brother..) :)!

Can anyone recommend where I can have this done for me in New York City?

Thanks!

Zinzi - Seriously? Well tell him I love his style. I have a dirty bird messenger bag and get compliments on it basically every day.

Anna - Thanks for the link!

Now I have another question. That tutorial says Penetrol is not recommended for white chairs because it will yellow over time. Does anyone know if it would also yellow on this light gray color?

i've had the same project chair for a couple months now so thanks to everyone for the suggestions! i do need to paint my chair though so i'm assuming i can use penetrol, then paint, then wax? also, any advice about patching a chair like this? whoever had it before me drilled three drain holes in the seat. grrr!

lexitallisman

i can refinish the eames chair for you and i am based on brooklyn, email me at munkyboi@gmail.com

cheers!

I recently bought a Eames canary yellow fiberglass shell chair. The edges are brown and the scratches are filled with what seems to be dirt. Warm water and soap does not not help. Does the Penetrol process remove embedded dirt?

Also, the shock mounts have created a discoloration on the fiberglass that shows through to the top of the seat. Any suggestions that could help even out those stains?

thanks!

open_skies:
how far apart are the three holes? they might not be for drainage but for attaching a seat cushion! is it the side chair of the arm chair? you can look up all the different shell chairs on the eames office website.
this is what i have and when the cushions are removed, there and three holes on the bottom and two on the top:
http://www.eamesoffice.com/vintage/worksheet_detail.php?id=52

In regards to the Drainage Holes....If you have the Armchair shell... Then it actually might have originally been an upholstered chair. I am currently trying to restore two armchair shells and have learned that the holes were put in so that the cushion could "breathe". If anyone has any idea how to fix these and match the color of the chair without painting, mine are a Navy Blue with visible fiber-glass fibers . Any info would be great! Thanks