Disassemble an Ikea chair?
March 21, 2011 4:51 PM Subscribe
I snagged a free Ikea Poang chair from certain dumpster-death today, and would like to re-finish or paint it. Is disassembling it to do this a bad idea?
Sanding and painting the parts individually would certainly result in a more polished finished product, but I'm afraid about the structural integrity after taking it apart and putting it back together again. I'm just not sure how well
Anyone done this with a Poang chair, or any other Ikea furniture? Will it hold up better than, say, Target furniture?
Sanding and painting the parts individually would certainly result in a more polished finished product, but I'm afraid about the structural integrity after taking it apart and putting it back together again. I'm just not sure how well
Anyone done this with a Poang chair, or any other Ikea furniture? Will it hold up better than, say, Target furniture?
It'll be fine. The only Ikea products you want to be careful about disassembling and reassembling multiple times are those made primarily of pressboard and/or using plastic fasteners, since these can break and degrade with use. Poang, being plywood, should remain solid. If you're still worried, you can add glue to the existing fasteners when you reassemble it — then it'll be better than new.
posted by RogerB at 5:00 PM on March 21, 2011
posted by RogerB at 5:00 PM on March 21, 2011
The chair looks pretty simple and apparently, you can download the instructions. I think you should be fine.
(I have also reassembled many IKEA pieces without much problem, sometimes without instructions.)
posted by darksong at 5:02 PM on March 21, 2011
(I have also reassembled many IKEA pieces without much problem, sometimes without instructions.)
posted by darksong at 5:02 PM on March 21, 2011
...and if you lose any of the fasteners, just stop in at the local Ikea and beg at the customer service counter for replacements. They've been pretty good to me about that sort of thing.
(Note: I usually disassemble flatpack furniture to move it - All but the very cheapest (Sauder, I'm looking at you...) can handle multiple reassemblies as long as you take your time.)
posted by Orb2069 at 5:04 PM on March 21, 2011
(Note: I usually disassemble flatpack furniture to move it - All but the very cheapest (Sauder, I'm looking at you...) can handle multiple reassemblies as long as you take your time.)
posted by Orb2069 at 5:04 PM on March 21, 2011
Best answer: The Poäng chair only has screws and fasteners, it comes totally in bits when new, and as a matter of fact, those screws need tightening every now and then anyway. To my knowledge, the structure itself is almost indestructible (as opposed to the cushions, but they can be replaced), unless you seat a tractor in it or something.
On the other hand, you'll have to fiddle around finding the proper finish. The original varnish on some series is oddly not-entirely-hard, and I have no idea how well other stuff holds on top of that.
posted by Namlit at 5:14 PM on March 21, 2011
On the other hand, you'll have to fiddle around finding the proper finish. The original varnish on some series is oddly not-entirely-hard, and I have no idea how well other stuff holds on top of that.
posted by Namlit at 5:14 PM on March 21, 2011
A Poäng seems like a pretty decent candidate for disassembly & reassembly. (As noted, they do need to be tightened occasionally anyway.)
A tip - a set of metric hex/allen keys (as found in most bike toolkits!) should contain whichever ones you need for your chair.
why yes, I did reassemble a piece of Ikea furniture this weekend using my bike tools.
posted by epersonae at 5:22 PM on March 21, 2011
A tip - a set of metric hex/allen keys (as found in most bike toolkits!) should contain whichever ones you need for your chair.
why yes, I did reassemble a piece of Ikea furniture this weekend using my bike tools.
posted by epersonae at 5:22 PM on March 21, 2011
the structure itself is almost indestructible
Unless it's left in the rain, after which my Poäng delaminated and the fasteners dropped out. I don't think a little wet would hurt, as in washing, but don't leave it to soak.
posted by anadem at 5:34 PM on March 21, 2011
Unless it's left in the rain, after which my Poäng delaminated and the fasteners dropped out. I don't think a little wet would hurt, as in washing, but don't leave it to soak.
posted by anadem at 5:34 PM on March 21, 2011
I've got a Poang that I've taken apart and put back together a couple of times and it's still going strong. The fasteners do need to be tightened about once a year, but that seems to be pretty normal.
posted by TooFewShoes at 6:32 PM on March 21, 2011
posted by TooFewShoes at 6:32 PM on March 21, 2011
A related poang question: can the footstool support the body weight of say an adult man?
posted by oxford blue at 10:14 PM on March 21, 2011
posted by oxford blue at 10:14 PM on March 21, 2011
oxford blue: My husband is about 300+lbs. and sits on our Poang footstool all the time. I think he's even used it as a step stool once or twice. I wouldn't recommend jumping on it, but it seems pretty darn sturdy to me.
posted by TooFewShoes at 11:22 PM on March 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by TooFewShoes at 11:22 PM on March 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
I've been using the footstools to reach top shelves and the likes, standing, not jumping. If the chair with its wide arch supports one's body weight, there is indeed no reason why the tiny stool shouldn't, unless the plate itself is too thin which it isn't.
posted by Namlit at 1:50 AM on March 22, 2011
posted by Namlit at 1:50 AM on March 22, 2011
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posted by ssg at 4:55 PM on March 21, 2011