Tricks to Disassemble Chrome Kitchen Chairs

Seat Backs

• Most retro chrome kitchen chairs have upholstered seat backs frequently covered in stretched vinyl. To remove the seat back turn the chair around. The chrome posts either slide into the inside of the seat back from the underside, or they are attached with screws from the back side of the seat. Unscrew the back side type using a regular screwdriver. For the insertable chair back, you may need to get more creative. Look around the edge of the chrome tubes to see if there is a fastener at that location. Some backs require you to remove some of the cover fabric from the back. Lift the stuffing to find the screws. Usually you will be replacing the cover during the upholstery process, but take care not to tear the cover when you remove the staples or tacks.

Chair Seat

• Turn the chair upside down and set the seat on a table. This will give you the best access to the underside of the chair. Most of the time you will see one screw at each corner of the chair seat. Sometimes the underside of the chrome is partially covered with cambric, a black fabric used by upholsters to cover the underside of furniture pieces. Remove any cambric or other cover by pulling the staples or tacks with pliers. Unscrew the four corner screws and the seat will lift off.

Through Tubes

• Most kitchen and dining chairs have additional screws joining sets of tubes. Often the outer screw or bolt head is disguised to look like a plain piece of rounded chrome. If the legs are rusty, this can make removing the nuts more difficult since they may spin around rather than unscrew. Grip the edges of the disguised head with vise grip pliers and use a properly sized wrench on the nuts. It may also be necessary to add a lubricant like mineral oil to the threads to help the nut unscrew.

Adjustable Feet

• Most tubular chrome chairs were sold with insertable adjustable feet. These feet unscrewed to make it easy for the owner to level out the feet. Over time, some feet become rusted, damaged or lost. It is important to replace the feet to protect the bottom of the chrome tubes from damage. Place the leg tubes in a vise. The feet are designed to press into the tube. Some may have an additional screw on the inside of the leg tube. Spray the foot with a lubricant, remove any fastener and pull out the foot. This will allow you to clean the chrome completely and restore the feet when you put the chair back together.