In one room at the church there are some old, padded chairs [not sure of the exact age – but 20 years plus] and they are looking the worse for wear – the vinyl is ripped, the foam is showing through.
Bob noticed the orange plastic, and had a flash of inspiration – underneath the hideous mustard, are they Robin Day Polyprop Chairs?
You can find out more about these chairs on my post here from February last year.
Well, we fetched one chair home, and Bob got a Stanley knife [that’s a box-cutter if you are American] and a pair of pliers [no idea what Americans call them. Pliers I think!]
And I fetched a black rubbish sack for the debris. He set to work…
And ended up with this…
The yellow marks are bits of foam still stuck to the seat. And we thought we’d solved our problem – we just needed to apply some sort of solvent to remove the sticky bits of foam, and we’d have two dozen ‘new’ chairs without having to spend any money.This would keep the Church Treasurer happy. But things are rarely as straightforward as that. The padding had been held in place with rows of staples - which had come right through the plastic. Bob pulled them out with pliers.
Sadly all the little holes have sharp, scratchy edges, and there are splits in the plastic – it is like a row of perforation along the front. It would probably hurt a child with bare legs, and ruin a pair of tights!
So after half an hour of work, we reluctantly concluded that this was not going to be the great thrifty project we thought it was!
What a shame. Three cheers chairs for Bob, for trying, anyway.
What a shame - they look SO good in the photos! and yes the bright orange looks so much nicer than the mustard yellow.
ReplyDeleteHow about making slip on covers like
ReplyDeletethose posh dinning chairs have,
Bright as you like
The way I figure it, every frugal project won't work, but enough will to make your efforts worthwhile over the long haul. You're still ahead!! ~Liz
ReplyDeleteWhat a post!
ReplyDeleteThe product shot you have, is of an ADV poly stacking chair, available online here... http://bit.ly/r8mho6
The chair you've uncovered is certainly not a Robin Day, but one of a number of poly chairs which were variously modified to be covered in thick padding. To my knowledge, designs of this type died out in the late 80's early 90's.
Considering the age of these types of chair, people should be careful that the foams are CMHR rated. They seem to be of little value, as once the fabric has worn, the chairs are basically useless.
Upholstered ADV chairs are available, but in a more practical and long term manner.