How to properly oil the wood panels on a 50+ year old Eames Lounge Chair  

Hows the progress ??
Hows the progress ?? have you oiled yet ?

Light Tung Oil
I did my old and dry panels this weekend by cleaning with warm water, drying, using 000 steel wool, wiping with dry cloth (all steps with grain) and then applying oil in circular motion, waiting 10 minutes, buffing off excess oil, waiting 3 hours and applying a second coat, waiting 10 minutes, buffing off excess oil, waiting 24 hours applying a third coat, waiting 10 minutes, buffing off excess oil, three hours later final buffing to satin sheen. Very pleased!
My HM sticker is round - black background, silver letters. Panels are all stamped 3 66. Was this a tenth anniversary thing or is it normal?
Whitish residue is sap oxidized. It's one way you can tell rosewood.

This was an old thread I came across while trying to find the best instructions for refinishing the 1960s lounge I purchased through an auction... I found a nice example of the lounge chair with two ottomans. Well, it just so happened that I had a chair of the same era sans ottoman. Perfect!
The damage to the chair was apparent from the pictures but I thought that, at the very least, the parts (cushions and harware) would be worth a certain amount, even if the shockmounts are damaged or the wood was irreparable. The chair arrived in good structural condition, which was a bonus.
Several months after having it sit in my living room, I came across some Natural oil and had enough time to take a stab at following tktoo's instructions. I was planning on using a damaged base first, but my wife convinced me not to. I still think that was a terrible idea. She's full of them, though.
So, armed with 320, 400 and 600 sandpaper, I began sanding down the veneer paying close attention to what I figure is water marks... It didn't take very long, but after getting through a round or two with each paper and blah blah blah. Sanded then oiled and that's it. Was done in one night. Super easy... This was the first time I'd ever tried anything, aside from putting them together/taking them apart.
Here's the end results. Thanks for all the tips, nerds!

Not bad for a tenderfoot, duke!
I probably would have hit that water-stained panel with an oxalic acid treatment prior to sanding, but glad we could help!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBv3TzH2jao

Great info here. Thank you.

Hey all, thank you so much for all the information on this thread, very helpful. Harder than expected to find good information about restoring these loungers. I bought what I can tell as a 2nd generation chair, the back is sagging on it a bit (among other things), so would like to restore it now. The answers on finishing the rosewood are all clear, but my chair has a few chips and notches along the front edge of the plywood - just on the front edge, has anyone had any experience in restoring areas like this? 

My thinking right now, is using a touch of filler (which I will color match to be the same), then I have a friend who is a high end painter (does faux wood graining etc) and was going to get him to woodgrain/paint the couple of small areas that need filling to match. Good idea, or maybe there's a better way?