DCM restoration  

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1. Mother's Chrome Polish. You can find it at any auto shop. If there is pitting however I might leave it as is. Removing the hazy patina will only make the pitting stand out that much more.
2. You're bang on. Try your best to put the pieces back together exactly as they came apart with a thin layer of epoxy in between.
3. I wouldn't use anything harsh to clean the wood. Just give it a good once over and then apply some Restor-a-Finish(Home Depot) if you'd like to even it out a bit.

Check this out
click on the left hand side "EAMES DCM Repair"
(edited by DA - no advertising please)

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Was not advertising just trying to help
Was not trying to advertise LUNCHBOX don't need to. Just wanted to help. Thought that's what a forum was for.
Have a nice day I will send him the information privately so sorry.

Thanks Lunchbox and special...
Thanks Lunchbox and special K for the advice. I'm interested in restoring the chair myself, as I enjoy the process and am not sure I can afford pro care right now. My goal is to do as much as possible while being minimally invasive, and if needed get pro help once I have more disposable income.
The aluminum, vinegar, and elbow grease brought the base to an acceptable condition, and some more polishing should make it pretty nice. The chrome is definitely pitted, but unless someone has a simple tip for helping with the resulting dark spots I'll probably just leave them be.
The seat is covered in old paint drops. Interestingly, if I scratch these off with my nail, the chair underneath is a nice bright red because (I suppose) the drops have been protecting the chair since time immemorial. It'll be hard to get a uniform finish...

color
do not mess with the red!

Messing with the red
I would love to be able not to mess with the red, but I'm not sure how I'll do that. The back rest is still a perfectly nice color, but the seat now looks mostly a reddish brown, with a few bright red patches where paint drops protected the original color. The finish is completely worn off by patches, and brown at others, with constellations of paint drops. Actually, the photos I posted make the seat look much redder (and cleaner) than it actually looks. You can see the contrast better on the attached pic.
So to get a somewhat uniform finish I think I'd have to strip the finish, but then I'm concerned about further removing the already paling red dye. If you don't want me to mess with the red, what would you do?
From what I gather, it has attributes of Evans made (solid base, older type of gliders). I see on Wikipedia that these are particularly sought after, especially the red ones. I was planning on going at restoring it myself, as a weekend project, but now I'm not sure I want to risk messing it up. Should I let a pro handle this?
Oh, and what is so special about the red chairs? Were there just fewer of them?

Red
The red chairs are much rarer, and are desired for their patina. If you mess with the finish you will ruin the value and the uniqueness of your chair. There is no way to put the 60 years of fading and wear back on the chair. Maybe you should just sell it to me as is, and use the money to buy a new red one.

Condition...
Red means nothing if the condition of the patina is poor.

You could try
I'm not sure if how well this would work, but....In my limited experience in wood finishes, you could possibly rub a little mineral sprits on a test area to see if it helps even the color. What this does is gives you a preview of what the finish would look like with a penetrating finish applies (ex. oil finish). The mineral spirits should evaporate fairly quickly as long as you don't saturate the veneer and should be back to original state if you don't like the results. If it blends well you could try applying an oil finish after a light sanding.
That's what I'd do if it were my chair and I planned on keeping it forever. If you're looking on selling it anytime in the near future proceed at your own risk.

Thanks Honus_Wenger,
I'd...
Thanks Honus_Wenger,
I'd be totally up for selling/trading with someone that will value the rarity of the chair more than me, but this is not an option here as it was a gift from the original owner who has attachment to it. As I don't have an intention to sell it, "value" doesn't matter too much, but I'm still willing to do my best to treat the chair as well as it deserves.
So I now received two suggestions (restor-a-finish, and a new coat of oil-based finish) which I presume you would not approve of. I still need to give the chair a thorough cleaning, as I am pretty sure paint drop constellations and gunk don't count as patina. I would be grateful if you could provide advice about how to do this without damaging the finish. Similarly, once the chair has been cleaned, is there any noninvasive way of protecting what remains of the initial finish, or is it your view that the original finish must stand alone against the woes of time?
--iltuje

How do you
plan to use the chair ?
I often wonder why, as original finish and patina are so highly valued, and as
the condition of the object always represents a snapshot in time, at any given moment, of an ongoing process of use (and decay), that owners don't simply use the object, with care and respect, without doing anything at all in the way of maintenance or upgrade. Just use it, enjoy it, value it, and protect it -- but don't try to upgrade its present condition in any way, as that condition is apparently so highly valued ?
No decisions about what to add to the finish. No worries about what to leave and what to fix. It's never going to look new again. That's (apparently) the whole point. It's a unique example of an icon, with a unique set of marks and wear. Leave it. Love it.

Very ,Very,Very,
well said, SDR. Probably one of the best comments that I've ever read on this forum..and deserves its own thread.
Goodness gracious!

I should clarify...
My previous comments regarding Restor-A-Finish were made before I saw the photos so I wasn't aware of the red finish. There'll be no evening out the finish, that considered. SDR's point is correct. But you must decide for yourself. For me, preservation of a patina is pointless if said patina isn't pleasing and/or natural. And at the end of the day, you want it to look good. So you'll have to decide. Either you clean it up and leave it be or sand and refinish. No in between on this one.