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Repair and Refinishing Eames Dining Chairs and Lounge Chairs - LCM, DCM, LCW, DCW
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The Eames Chair Repair of Dining and small Lounge chairs develop three main problems requiring repairs:
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• The Chair backs and seats separate from the rubber shock mounts.
• The Chrome plated steel frames develop rusting, with pitting showing through the electroplating.
• The wood shells develop loose veneer or sun bleaching discoloration or a worn-off finish, and need refinishing and veneer repair.
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Rubber Shock Mounts Loosen as the Rubber turns Brittle or Glue fails, and the Eames chair back and Seat Fall off
The old neoprene or polyurethane rubber and steel shock mounts oxidize and become brittle internally, and separate from the chair backs first, with the seats following not too long afterward. The remnants of the shocks must be carefully removed, and the underlying wood surface carefully repaired. We replace the shock mounts with our proprietary shock mounts, appearing identical to the originals. Our repairs carry a 15 year warranty against loosening. You can ship the back shells or seat shells to us in a box, and we can repair and ship back to you at additional cost, or using your account.
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DCM shocks that had shocks glued a 2nd time
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LCM shocks that had shocks glued a 2nd time |
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Eames Dining or Lounge Chair that had shocks repeatedly glued, causing ripping out of veneer from unskilled application
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LCW with ripped out shock mounts |
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_small.jpg "replaced shock mounts") |
_small.jpg "replaced shock mounts after") |
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replaced shock mounts
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replaced shock mounts after |
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Eames Lounge Chairs Metal and Dining Chairs Metal LCM and DCM develop corrosion through the chrome plating, with rust spots all over
Olek delicately polishes out rust pitting in the chrome legs that results from high humidity, with minimal removal of original chrome plating. Below are sample DCM (LCM) chairs with chrome plated steel finish that were hand polished. The chrome plating perforates with rust from the underlying steel. The rust can be removed chemically without damaging the chrome, and applying an unnoticeable, transparent finish that protects the chrome from continuing corrosion.
Old shock mounts are irreparable, and the four pieces must be replaced when one fails. As they are defective from the start, we will not warranty, nor work on any Eames Lounge chair's shock mounts without replacing all of the shock mounts. We could use the neoprene/steel threaded-plate sandwich design that Herman Miller used to use, or the newer generations of polyurethane with metal embedded plate, but all of these designs are flawed, because (in lay terms) relying on rubber to be a structural joint, and gluing to attach rubber to wood or metal is a flawed concept.
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 small.jpg "DCM Chrome chair") |
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DCM chair hand polished chrome
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DCM Chrome chair |
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| DCM chrome chair before |
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 small.jpg "DCM Chrome chair during") |
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DCM chrome chair during
DCM hand polished chrome after
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Eames Lounge DCW and LCW chairs develop veneer and finish problems requiring Refinishing
Exposure to sunlight, too frequent oil polishing or oils from perspiration, and unstable humidity causes veneer to lift or come unglued, bleaching out of the wood grain color, dark blemishes in the finish, and chipping of the veneer. Possibilities of repair are seen in the photos below.
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_small.jpg "Plywood shells refinished") |
_small.jpg "Typical plywood shell finish before refinishing, with finish flaking or worn off") |
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Plywood shells refinished
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Typical plywood shell finish before refinishing, with finish flaking or worn off |
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_small.jpg "Another typical original grimy oiled finish, old finish worn off") |
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Another typical original grimy oiled finish, old finish worn off
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Plywood seat and back shells refinished in red aniline dye like original for this chair |
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Eames Lounge Dining and Lounge Chair shells after removal of finish
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.JPG)
.jpg)
.jpg "replaced shock mounts")
.jpg "replaced shock mounts after")
.JPG "DCM Chrome chair")
.JPG "DCM chrome chair before")
.JPG "DCM Chrome chair during")
.jpg "Plywood shells refinished")
.JPG "Typical plywood shell finish before refinishing, with finish flaking or worn off")
.JPG "Another typical original grimy oiled finish, old finish worn off")
