On Sunday, April 7, 2013 3:22:11 AM UTC-5, Coyote-Rain wrote:
The chairs are somewhat collectible. They're mid-century modern, which is hot right now, and they're labled DUX, which is pretty well known. That's why I wanted to do a really good job on them.


"Somewhat collectible" is an understatement.

From your posts, your level of knowledge needs to be upgraded, a good bit more, before you tackle those chairs. You need to show us some detailed pics of those chairs. You damn sure don't want to skimp on refinishing or restoring them. Even refinished, each chair can be worth a heck of a lot more than most chairs that age or any age.

First of all, you need to test to see whether the present finish is lacquer, shellac or something else. Do you know how to do the lacquer and shellac tests? There may be a good chance the original finish is lacquer. It's not unusual that the finish on a piece dictates what "stripping" procedure, if need be, is better/best.

Also, you want (or at least I would recommend, as best you can) to use the same stripping process/procedure for all the chairs.... you don't want to alter your stripping process for subsequent chairs, if you start to find the process tedious and/or troublesome (not fun). Altering the stripping process may result in slight mismatched colorations, prior to refinishing.

Are you on a time frame to complete the refinishing/restoring? You may need some (good) time to study, some more, what's best, before you dive in to this project.

Is there upholstery on the chairs and, if so, do you plan to remove the upholstered parts (seats & backrests)? Though not relavent to this thread, will you be reupholstering the upholstered parts?

Many of those highend furniture pieces had/have finish blends applied and sometimes you can find what original blend is on certain furniture, if you want to match the original finish. Companies, as Heywood Wakefield, still have their older finish blends available, either for blending yourself or purchasing a quantity of the blend. Compared to your style of chairs, the similar style of J.L Moller furniture typically has lacquer finishes applied to them.

I don't particularly like to refer anyone to another forum, as there are excellent advisors here, but here are a few threads that may be helpful, as well.

http://www.refinishwizard.com/phpbb/...pic.php?t=3120

http://www.refinishwizard.com/phpbb/...pic.php?t=3056

Sonny