I have an early Saarinen side table base. It's sort of off white or just slightly yellowed over the years, which is ok with me. It has some chips and rough spots, it looks like it could have been repainted or touched up at some point. I'm thinking about having it redone. Now from what I understand, the base has a Rislan nylon finish on it. How is this applied? Is it a powder coat? Is there a specific color/number of Rislan to be used? I was thinking of taking it to a body shop that redid some chairs a while back for me and having them sand blast and powder coat, but I want to make sure I do it right. Could anybody provide me with a little more info on the best way to go about refinishing the base? Thanks!
Rislan is just the name for a particular brand of powder coat:
http://www.rilsanfinepowders.com/en/markets/coating-applications/index.html
Anywhere that does powder coating would be able to sandblast and repowder the base for you.
I have a small Saarinen side table that I got years ago at auction. The base looked pretty grubby but when I started to clean it, I discovered that the parts that looked cleaner were actually white latex paint that came right off! The original finish was a matte ecru. I was told at that time that early tulip bases came in this finish and that it hadn't just darkened with age.
Anyway, I ended up leaving it as is, chips and all, and I really like it. If you got yours recently, I'd just advise you to live with it for a bit. If in a year you still feel the need to make it bright white, then ok, I guess.
Thanks everyone for your input! I thought Rislan might just be a type of powder coat but I wanted to be sure.
I don't want to take vintage and fuck it up. I love vintage and original everything. I was planning on selling this table and the walnut top is pretty rough, and the base has a few chips and spots that look like maybe it was sprayed or something. I've added a bunch of pictures. My thought was that if I had it sandblasted and powder coated with the more yellowed look, or as spanky said a matte ecru, and I lightly restored the top, it would be worth a bit more to a prospective buyer. Am I wrong about that? I know most furniture original is better, but I'm not sure this hasn't been resprayed or something already.
For the record, I love the yellowed, slightly blemished, imperfectness a vintage piece has to offer.
Also, here are two more pictures, one with the top. What's the best way to restore the top without being too invasive? Good old Howards and 0000 steel wool? Or light sanding and then the Howards? Any suggestions would be welcome. I just want to make sure I do this table right whether that's doing nothing too it other than a good cleaning, or sanding and stinging and powder coating. Thanks again everybody!
Why not just put a fair price on it as-is and let the future owner decide what, if anything, needs doing?
FTR, I'm digging the aged appearance. Especially on the base. Maybe the top could use a light-handed tarting up, though. Good old oxalic acid treatment to rid it of water stains and a re-oiling? That's about as far as I'd wanna go.
Thanks tktoo for that response. That's pretty much what I was looking for. I'll just leave the base alone and lightly redo the top like you suggested and sell it for a fair price (which I would have done anyway). I love the base the way it is, and if I was keeping the table for my home, I wouldn't touch it, I just thought maybe I would get more out of it re-coated. I'll leave that up to the next owner though. Thanks for everybody else that contributed to this too. I appreciate the advice!
Leave the base alone. The warm aged beige is pretty nice. If the chips are really visible, mix some (water-based, easily removable) paint to match and touch it up. That's what I did on mine. The fix is evident from a foot away, invisible from ten feet.
As for the top, maybe give it a light pass with fine steel wool and a coat of Danish oil, and stop there.
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