Sept 11. 2011
This weekend, my wife and I went to a local school’s rummage sale. Seeing two Steelcase chairs with very worn and drab upholstery and stainless steel that was spotted and dirty, was a sad sight. So we bought them and decided to recover the fabric and polish the stainless steel to bring these office warriors back to life. All the tags were still on each chair giving us the date of manufacture as November, 1981 in Tustin, CA. We know this was used by an electronics engineer as there were tiny wires with soldered ends and miniature circuit board capacitors stuck in the chair seams.
Steelcase History: Steelcase began in 1912 as The Metal Office Furniture Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They received their first patent in 1914 for a steel wastebasket – a major innovation at a time when straw wastebaskets were a serious office fire hazard. That led to metal desks, and they have been an industry leader ever since. Their current products address the three core elements of an office environment: interior architecture, furniture and technology. The company’s name was changed to Steelcase in 1954 and they became a publicly held company in 1998. www.steelcase.com/en/pages/homepage.aspx
We’ll follow these chairs through the process of refurbishing:
The first order of business is to remove the seat and back from the plastic shell so they can be reupholstered (including new buttons) and the shell and metal components cleaned and returned to as close to original condition as possible. After about 45 minutes of us both working to disassemble the chair and upholstery, and 12 bolts, 10 screws, and 300 staples later, this is what we had:
I must say that this chair is extremely well engineered and manufactured and after a clean up, should be gorgeous. After 30 years in service, there is still grease on the main spring and the wheels roll like they were made yesterday.
The fabric pattern will be easy to duplicate as they are two rectangular pieces joined with one seam. We’ll add a little batting to the well used seat, and of course, easily make new buttons with the button machine! Although the first chair took 45 minutes to disassemble, the second chair should take half that time once the proper assembly order is known. While my wife is buying fabric and sewing, I’ll clean everything and polish the stainless.
After about an hour’s work cutting, sewing, stapling and making buttons, we have a brand new chair seat (left).
The end result (on the right), was much better than we had imagine! Someone would have to look very close to tell that this chair was not new. Bottom-line, we spent a total of about $25 in acquiring the materials for refurbishing the chair and maybe close to 4 hours of our time.
My daughter loves this chair much better than hers, and she has now used it in her room since the original posting in 2011. She will NOT give it up. 8-))
P.S. The vintage Steelcase Office chairs do not have the pneumatic mechanism to adjust the height of the chair. The height is adjusted by turning the chair in circles around the base. The base post contains a screw mechanism that gives 2-3″ of adjustment.
If you parts to refit your chair, here are some site that I’ve found helpful:
- http://www.oodlesofpartsplus.com/
- http://www.oodlesofpartsplus.com/http://swivel-chair-parts.com/Tips/tipsPage.html
- http://www.echairparts.com/
what did you use to clean the chair?
Hi Amanda, Depending on what you are starting with, the method varies. If there is grease, polish, and grime on the metal, I use mineral spirits to remove the layers before I apply Brasso. If it’s just normal dirt and dust, I’ll wash with soap and water before applying Brasso. If there are rust spots, after cleaning with mineral spirits, I’ll apply Brasso with very fine steel wool and after the rust is removed, use the normal rag to apply and polish the metal. To clean the plastics, I just use Windex. Good Luck! 8-))
Did you do any repairs to the mechanism on the chair? I’ve got a 1977 Steelcase chair and some part in the tilt mechanism has crumbled to dust recently. It seems to have kept the chair from tilting back too far/made it easier to til the chair forward once tilted back. If you have any clue what the part is or looks like I would appreciate the help very much! This was the most comfortable desk chair I’ve had and I would hate to have to find another chair.
Hi Nick,
Without taking a look, it’s hard to say exactly what’s wrong with the chair mechanism. If you’re handy, you might disassemble the mechanism under the seat to see if there’s any apparent problem. You can also look on the Internet to find the entire mechanism and replace it. Here’s just one site – http://www.officereplacementparts.com/categories/Steelcase-Replacement-Parts/Chair-Parts/. Steelcase sells a few spare parts but not many.
Good Luck!
How do you get the set off the plastic base? Any tricks?
Hi Kevin,
I’m assuming the plastic base you mention is the the inner plastic shell to which the outer plastic shell and the base of the chair are attached. Afraid everything that can be taken apart along the way needs to come off, starting with the base and pneumatic cylinder. There should be 4 bolts visible that need to be removed with a socket wrench. I could do better if I were there helping, hope this is enough to do the job. 8-))
Any tips on doing the buttons? Just picked up 5 1970’s versions with buttons. I think my husband and I could do the reupholstering, but the buttons are giving me pause. Thanks.
Hi Tiffany!
Buttons were always a problem for us as well until we found the button maker. I have button hardware remaining from our restoration (my daughter still has the chair and loves it) and with the button maker could make you some buttons. I would need some small pieces of your material to ensure a perfect match. If you’d like to do this we can communicate via email and work out the details.
8-)) Retro
Thanks for the post! I have a similar Steelcase chair made in 1980, except it has metal gliders on the feet instead of wheels. Do you know if there’s any good way to pry or unscrew the gliders so that I can install wheels on the bottom? Thanks again!
Thanks Mike,
Interesting – metal gliders. Have you tried a sharp screwdriver and hammer on the edge of the gliders to see if they pop off? If they are just covers and you can’t get them off, you may even try drilling through the glider and popping it out with a screwdriver. Hard to tell much else without a photo. Here’s a web link where you can find replacement steelcase casters and even a caster removal tool, “http://www.oodlesofpartsplus.com/chair_parts.htm#chairparts”. As you can see, all replacements have the neck that goes into the hole in the bottom of the legs. Let me know how things progress. 8-)) Retro
Thanks very much! I’ll give that a try.
As for pictures, here’s a link to an identical chair on ebay. One of the images has a close up of the chair’s legs. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Steelcase-451-Mid-Century-Executive-Red-Swivel-chair-/251595252104?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a943ee188
Thanks again!
Thanks for the photo Mike! I understand much better. My wife tells me that this particular chair was not deigned to have casters as it was meant to be the chair that is placed next to the desk and not move. If you can get the pads off by unscrewing or pulling, you’ll see how they are mounted and should be able to tell if you will be able to make a screw in caster work, but the photo shows the legs as wide and not very thick which tells me there might not be enough room for a caster. I just went in to check my daughter’s chair and the legs are horizontally think but vertically thick which makes the room for the caster post. Good Luck!! 8-))
So, this is a couple of years later, but I wanted to follow up and say that I was able to remove the gliders with a hammer, and it was really easy to install the new casters after that!
I have 3 Steelcase “barrel” chairs (2 cloth & 1 leather) that have the molded plastic back with a plastic rim/band that covers the “seam” where the front cloth to the plastic shell. Any ideas how to reupholster this type of Steelcase chair? I can’t see how to remove the plastic band without destroying it and wouldn’t know where I could get a replacement or how to attach it.
Thanks for any input you can provide.
Carol
Hi Carol,
On the chairs that I’ve seen with the plastic shell back, there are some small screws hiding fairly well in the depression in the shell close to the edge. I haven’t seen a separate plastic band between the shell and the upholstery, but if it is a totally separate band, I’d follow it to where it meets the other part of the band and forms a small seam, and then I’d try to pry the seam open with a very small screwdriver to see if it will snap out once it’s started at a/the seam.
Good luck!
8-))
I can’t wait to explore that. Thanks!
I purchased a vintage Steelcase Executive Chair. It was manufactured in 1981. I need to replace the casters as this chair will be used on laminate floors. I noticed that the casters on these chairs described in this article have chrome casings and look classic. Do you know where I can purchase casters like these, and how do I determine which caster number to buy? My chair has 4 leg arms.
If I am not mistaken, in the 1970’s and 1980’s, Steelcase specified Knoll Textiles for the upholstered chairs like the original heavy weave fabric of these chairs. When I find vintage upholstered chairs like these, I tend to go the conservation route instead going to full restoration/refurbishing. I also go through removing the original upholstery, hand washing them carefully or soaking over night to remove as much grime/dirt and replace some of the foam/padding if necessary but reinstall the cleaned original upholstery back instead of replacing them entirely. I don’t mind aged or slightly faded vintage upholstery as long as it has been cleaned up properly and they are still in very good condition (most usually are). I just prefer the vintage items I use at home are all as close to original as possible.
I recently picked up (from the curb on trash day) a Steelcase Concentirx office chair from 1981 with a near mint Knoll Textile upholstery by one of Knoll’s textile designers, Jhane Barnes that needed very minor vacuuming and cleaning. But what I liked best is that it has the all beige chair frame/parts of various metals and plastics like the first beige office desktop computers (the likes of IBM and the 1st Apple Mackintosh). Although some would consider beige boring, I prefer the uniform monotone color scheme which does not demand, detract or compete attention with the trophy/statement pieces I have.
Thank you for sharing Andre! Good work on the Concentrix save. Sometimes it’s the rescue that gives us the most in feelings of satisfaction. 😎
Retrofit, I believe the original fabric on your Steelcase chairs was the Irish Tweed by Susan Kimber for Knoll Textiles produced in 1978-1984 in orange and natural 100% wool with a synthetic backing.
Thank you!!! 8-))
Thanks for the info on this chair. I just purchased one yesterday for $15. Same orange fabric as yours. Fabric is in great shape but the wheels, not so much! Went looking to find out how to adjust height and you gave me that and much more. Thanks!
You guys are putting me to shame! I am the one with 3 chairs (2 fabric and 1 leather) posted the question in 2015 and I haven’t taken the time to get them done. You have inspired me to do so this fall/winter. Thanks!
Carol
Hi,
I recently bought a vintage steel case office chair with moulded plastic back. I was so please with my find. It looked in decent shape. Unfortunately after having the chair in our office for a day we realized the plastic back is offgassing leaving a pungent smell. Do you have any tips for sealing the plastic and also repairing scratches. I’m hoping we can seal in the smell.
Thank you,
Melody
Hi Melody, Too bad about the smell. Are you sure it’s outgassing? The first thing I would do is unscrew to plastic back and check the inside for damage or mold to the cushions. Then while the shell is off, wash it with a strong soap and water. You can very gently sand (400-600 grit) any raised edges of gouges or scratches but don’t go below the surface level. Then use a renewer like Armor-All to give it back some luster. Good Luck!!
Thanks, I’ll try that. In the past we have experienced old plastic with the same B.O. smell. I did notice that the back of the plastic molded tub is starting to crumble a bit which is why I thought a sealer may work. I hope your suggestion works. It’s a beautiful chair.
I’m so glad I found your write up. I have exactly this chair, but I’ve already had it reupholstered. (the original fabric is what yours started with) Now the casters are kind of separating, and little bearing balls are escaping. I am desperate to find new casters or get these fixed up, and your links were SUPER helpful, as well as the photo of the tag so I could grab the model number. the tag on mine is long gone. I don’t blame your daughter. I waited 14 years for my Father-In-Law to retire from our family business so I could claim this chair, and people tell me I need to just buy a new one. Those people are what I like to call “crazy” and “ill-informed”. Nothing beats this chair, and I’ve tried all the fancy modern ones. This is a feet-on-the-desk, lean-all-the-way-back, and never-get-dumped-on-your-butt-chair! Just add wireless mouse and keyboard.
I was given 6 454’s around 1995 in Atlanta. At the time, I didn’t know how good they were. The company was getting new furn. and I got them and kept moving them around as I moved from place to place. Finally in a home office around 2000 did I start sitting in the reclining version every day – I had 2 without arms which didn’t lean back.
I’m big and the chair is the most sturdy thing I’ve ever sat in, as Alash mentions. No fear of it breaking or tilting – a benefit of that 5th leg in the design!
Somehow, I’m down to 2 over the years. Both of the non-leaners broke – just from torque on the shaft. Wasn’t smart enough to keep them for parts (geez… Fabric! never thought!)
Great chair.
Thanks for your post.
Pretty sure we have parts from another 454!
Thanks SO much for commenting! Glad you liked the post!
Finding this post made me talk my husband out of replacing the 454 chair (high-back) I found for $80 at a used office furniture store circa 1990 and have loved ever since. My son picked out the fabric he wants to recover it with, and I just ordered some foam online to fill in where things have flattened a bit over the years. Can’t wait! Thanks!