this darb life: mid century modern gets a facial

I stumbled upon a group of Herman Miller Eames Shell Chairs abandoned on the curb in my neighborhood. If any of you know me well, then you would just guess what would happen next. I did what many would consider unthinkable given their condition. I decided that they would become my next restoration project.

Upon checking the back of the chairs I found that they were dated Jan 16th 1959 and had a faded sticker that described their maker as Herman Miller Furniture Company, Zeeland MI. The name was at the bottom of a long list of patent codes. Had they been in better shape the label would resemble the one below it. The chairs were first manufactured in the late fifties and designed by Charles Eames, best know for his molded plywood lounge chair circa 1941.

Eames worked at Herman Miller Furniture crafting pieces that concentrated on organic shaping and clean lines, removing the bulkiness of most furniture styles and allowing form to follow function. He turned to industrial materials like fiberglass to create economical pieces for everyday life while still holding true to the integrity of good design.

Now, how did the project go? Was I over my head with this one? At times I thought I was but I don't go down without a fight so I'll continue:

First,I began by rinsing off all the loose dirt and debris and giving them a nice soapy scrub. The other labels were gone, leaving behind a yellow mark where the adhesive aged so I carefully removed this one with a single edged blade to preserve it's identity. Since there were layers of dirt caked into all the cracks in the finish along with additional yellowed varnish that must have been applied later, I took to exploring all possible methods to bring them back to the original color. The method that worked the best at removing the aged varnish was sanding it while wet using a sanding sponge. Be sure to wear rubber gloves so the shards of old varnish do not irritate your skin.

Once all the top layer varnish was removed I worked on excavating all the caked in dirt that had dug itself into the fibers of the fiberglass. I tested bath tub cleaners, oxy clean, softscrub, comet, and even an earth friendly vinegar and water. I tried multiple scrubbing pads and scouring scrubs and in the end found the most effective way to be soaking rags in undiluted bleach and applying them like a compress for a facial. After leaving it on for about 4hrs to overnight the results were astonishing. The beach ate at all the dirt in the fibers and revealed a crisp white surface as shown in the before and after images below. This was possible because due to years of exposure from being left outside, the original gel coating was pretty much gone. Just made sure you do so in a well-ventilated environment, and again, wear gloves.

After the scrubbing and soaking was completed I begun restoring the original chrome splayed legs and preparing the chairs for a new surface sealant. While researching others who have taken on the task of making marvels out of madness, I found that most referred to using a oil paint conditioner called Penetrol. Penetrol is also used to restore fiberglass and metal surfaces. Before applying it to the metal legs, I scrubbed them down using a wet pumice stone. The pumice stone works well at removing all the loose rust and dirt.