Herman Miller Nelson bench question  

It used to be
It used to be the Eames LCW/DCW were dyed using Aniline dye. it is a water based dye that penetrates deep into the wood - similar to a stain. The result was that as the chair was worn down over use, the color would remain.
Now the LCW/DCWs are painted black and red over a primer. What happens now is if you chip or scratch a new plywood chair you get a glaring white mark. Herman Miller's response to this: go to the hobby store and get some craft paint to touch it up.
I dont know if the Nelson Benches are the same. But generally "ebonizing" wood means to make it as black as possible, usually using an ebony stain or a dye. it is possible now that HM is painting them. An email to HM will clarify.

Nelson benches are painted
I bought a new 60 inch nelson bench (Herman Miller mfg) two yrs ago - it has a few chips now, because I use it as a tv stand.
The raw wood is easily exposed underneath the chips. Kinda sucks. Not what I expected, considering the price.

Miller website
On the Herman Miller website it says the bench legs are ebonized and the DCM is stained black. I'm going to call them and see. If they paint the wood, how can they charge so much?!

Indeed
I was annoyed as well. We have all this talk about knock-offs and how an unlicensed copy is not following the specifications of the original designer - and here we have the licensed manufacturers doing just that.
In the case of the LCW, the aniline dye was used in order to provide a lasting color through the life of the chair. Now, the slightest nick or scratch will give you an ugly white mark. 🙁

the reply I received from Herman Miller
The red LCW is actually a type of paint on top of an ash wood. So if a scratch is deep enough to go through the paint you'll see the light wood underneath. You can get a little bottle of touch up paint from a craft or hardware store and touch up and scratches you get.
Regards,
Brent McClain
Customer Care
Herman Miller for the Home

or.....
Or we can get the quality we pay for. Maybe the furniture should come with a can of touchup paint and a roll of duct tape. Is my newer Eames ESU painted too? Should I be careful what I put on it? Does Vitra paint their versions too? I'm surprised a Herman Miller employee would tell us to go get paint from a craft store. Thankfully I chose wood finishes on most of our Herman Miller items(total 12) and only have two "PAINTED" pieces. Sorry everyone, I'm annoyed.
James

Vitra's site implies that...
Vitra's site implies that their red LCW are dyed. While the benches feet are however painted.

Herman Miller's site, along...
Herman Miller's site, along with the majority of places that sell their products STATE, not imply, that the wood is stained.
"Finish choice. Outer ply is cherry, walnut, natural ash, red-stained ash, or ebony-stained ash." -from the Herman Miller website.
Now.. the real question is, do we complain to Herman Miller? or suck it up and deal? I, for one, love the red of my chair. However, if I could go back...I probably would have gone with a wood finish had I known. What to do?

I have decided to go for a...
I have decided to go for a walnut.
I guess I could just go to the paris vitra showroom and chip the red version without any salesperson noticing 😉
From vitra website:
"Materials: bench seat made of strips of natural ash wood. Base in ash, stained black.
DCW (Dining Chair Wood), LCW (Lounge Chair Wood)
Seat, back and base in moulded plywood, natural or
stained red ash. Seat and back are connected to the
base by means of shock mounts (rubber/metal-elements)."
loki

another request to HM
I sent another inquiry to Herman Miller asking for more details on the paint used. Lets see what comes back.

bench legs
I sent an email to my contact at Herman Miller...here is her reply: "Just got back from lunch............the legs are done with stain and then clear coated. It's an evil mixture that we get from "Paint Spot". They're local. Let me go down to the finish line for more input." Local meaning Grand Rapids, Mich.

Another thing abou the Nelson bench
I use it as a tv stand. Not a heavy tv - a standard 24 inch tv - 80 pounds. As a result of the tv weight, though, the ebonized paint has cracked along the slat joints.
Maybe that's why they stopped selling the fully ebonized bench - and only sell benches with ebonized legs.
I try to buy the best that I can afford. However, given the specific purpose for which the bench is being used for, i.e., a tv stand, next time I will opt for a cheaper knockoff should the bench break.
I hate to say it, but there is a certain cheapness to the paint quality on the nelson/herman miller mfg bench. I recently told a friend that the finish on ikea and crate and barrel products i own have lasted longer.