how do i remove plastic coating from chairs

April 20, 2008 11:29 AM

Help me figure out how to get plastic coating off metal chairs!

I recently recieved a set of wire outdoor chairs through freecycle which were advertised as 'rusty, but can be touched up'. Upon seeing them, I realized they were metal, but dipped in colored plastic, and the plastic had started to peel off (causing the metal underneath to rust. they look similar to this, but with thinner wire.
My intention had been to strip off paint and rust, and re-finish them. However, I cant figure out how to get the plastic off. Someone suggested melting off with a blow torch, but I'm not sure I want to do that. So, hive mind - help me figure out how to rescue these chairs!

posted by darsh to home & garden (8 comments total)

Well, there are three general approaches: thermal, chemical, and mechanical. The thermal idea is the blowtorch, and I can say that you'll definitely want to be careful with this approach and wear a proper respirator and work in a well-ventilated place; burning plastic isn't generally good for you.

For a chemical approach, you might try acetone (available at a decent hardware store) and see how effectively it attacks the plastic. Be sure to work on a dropcloth (ideally, not think plastic) and dispose of the waste correctly.

Alternatively, you might try steelwool for a mechanical approach.
posted by JMOZ at 11:42 AM on April 20

You can have them sandblasted. ask around to see if any friends or neighbors have sandbalsters in their garage ( someone who plays with old cars would be a good bet). check the yellow pages, or look for a small locally owned body shop, they might do it cheap.

if you have a local powder coat shop, see what they will charge to blast and powdercoat them, will look better and last longer than a rattle can job.

the blow torch idea will take forever, and will put out awful black smoke as the plastic burns
posted by Mr_Chips at 11:46 AM on April 20

Would sandblasting work? I have a decorating/craft book that suggests taking overpainted furniture to an auto body shop, where they can remove paint in the sandblast cabinet. I imagine you'd call ahead, discuss the project and see whether it's a suitable treatment and how much it costs.

disclaimer: I've never had occasion to try this.
posted by Elsa at 11:49 AM on April 20

If you decide to test the solvent trick get a small amount and test a small area first, because my experience suggests you are likely to be dealing with a sticky and horrible mess. Acetone fumes are also extremely flammable - enough to be ignited by static charges, so be careful.

I think JMOZ basically has it covered, although I'd be happy for someone to prove me wrong, because all these approaches have serious drawbacks. Solvents or burning are going to be creating serious mess/fumes/smoke issues with danger and toxicity problems, and I suspect completeness problem (fully and cleanly removing the plastic). The mechanical approach (simply chipping with a sharp tool and manually peeling might work better than steel wool) probably promises the cleanest job in all respects... but the amount of work involved might make you question whether the deal you got on this furniture was really worth it... You might try something like a stout circular wire brush that mounts on a drill (wear eye protection!).
posted by nanojath at 11:57 AM on April 20

Acetone may or may not work (as nanojath said), however, if you use it outside, you shouldn't have a problem with the flamibility of the acetone. I work with acetone as a chemist inside properly ventilated areas all the time and never have had any fires. I also would recommend trying the acetone in a small area first as if it doesn't dissolve the plastic, it will probably make a sticky mess.
posted by stevechemist at 12:10 PM on April 20

yes, sandblasting will work. there are even companies that specialize in restoring metal furniture, and sandblasting is the first thing they do
posted by Mr_Chips at 12:39 PM on April 20

Angle grinder with a wire wheel?
posted by 5MeoCMP at 3:54 PM on April 20

Take them to a powder-coat-er. They can sandblast them which will remove the coating and the rust. Then they can powdercoat them leaving them sparkly-new. I know from experience.
posted by orangemiles at 11:53 AM on April 21