Craigslist office chair

[twopugs]

Just brought home what I believe to be a Taylor executive chair by Hancock and Moore. The tag underneath says it is Natural Resistance - Unprotected leather.

There are some pretty significant scratches on the wood arm. Do you suppose I could fill them in with clear nail polish, or would they be better off left alone? I'm not that bothered by them since the chair will be in a home office and something like that could happen with a brand new chair as well.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[drcollie]

Don't use nail polish....can you take better photos with higher resolution? If I can see the areas more clearly I can give you the right touchup advice.

[twopugs]

I'll try to get a better picture. Thanks Duane.

[twopugs]

I'm not very proficient with a camera or computer but hopefully these are better.

[twopugs]

I'm not very proficient with a camera or computer but hopefully these are better. And eew do I ever need to get into the tufting with a toothbrush.

[drcollie]

Much better.

You have some lacquer-chipping / peeling on the arm, and that's the hard part to repair, but it can be fixed short of a full refinish. I assume you want to do this as inexpensively as possibly....

* Plan on doing both arms.

* Tape off the leather being careful NOT to get any tape on the leather itself, as it will pull the color off the hide if you do.

* Use 1,200 or 2,400 grit super-fine sandpaper and sand down the edge of that lacquer peel at the front edge of that arm radius. You don't need it super smooth, but you do need to have it so that there is no loose material what can be pulled off with a fingernail, etc.. Stay out of the color coat when sanding this down, if you start removing color....stop. Lightly sand the rest of the chair arm as well, but do not break into the color coat.

* Now you need a spray can of Heavy Body Sanding Sealer. You are going to be spraying several coats of this on the arm. Spray it on fairly heavy and make sure its dry (I always do this outside on low humidity days). After each coat, sand the sealer down using 150 grit paper, or 220 max. This will give you build and even out the bump for where the lacquer is stripping on the arms. After 12 to 15 coats, you should be perfect, and use your fingers to determine if its smooth, not your eyes. Again, stay out of the color coat.

* Once you have the arm smooth its time to add in some color. Use a lacquer spray can of the correct color (sometimes I will use different colors and build the color coat alternating between them) and put on a couple of light coats. Never go heavy on the color spray. When your color looks good and even, then steel wool it using # 0000 super fine.

* Finish with a coat of clear Satin Lacquer. Wool it down when dry using # 0000.

Done properly, this will give you a 'like new' repair. The key is not to rush, and not to apply the coats to heavy. Never get into sanding the sealer until its dry or you will have a real mess on your hands. I use Mohawk brand products, which you can buy on-line.

Good luck!

[twopugs]

Thank you Duane, it sure sounds like you've done this a few times!

When you talk about the color coat - that is in the lacquer layers, not the stained wood?

Does the sanding sealer need to be sprayed heavier near the chipping?

I'm going to have to build up the nerve to give it a try. I've stripped and refinished before but this will be more of a challenge than stripping, staining and polyurethane.

[drcollie]

The color coat is the underlying 'tone' of the wood. What's on top is clear, and the problem arises when you sand into the color coat in the wood because now you have it down to no finish. That complicates your repair by a factor of ten when you get into the color coat.

That chair has a wood base, practice on that first before you move up to the arms. The key is the sanding sealer, think of it as a 'leveler' to bring things up smooth and flush. Once you get the arm smooth, the rest is pretty easy.