Good Idea/Bad Idea: Restore an Early Herman Miller Eames CTM?  

You've got a nice untouched early one there! I'd carefully consolidate and/or stabilize any lifting veneer on the top surface and along the edge and maybe give it a coat or two of paste wax and leave it at that for now. The goal being to make any repairs easily reversible and retain the original patina, warts and all.

Until you decide whether or not to pass it on, best to keep it in as original condition as practical if you're plan is to 'use' it in the meantime, IMO.

Thanks so much for the guidance. I'm in Los Angeles so I was going to consider contacting Hume Modern to see if they'd take this on. They seem very well regarded when it comes to repairing and refinishing Eames lounges in particular. Once they reply to my inquiry, I'll discuss that as an option with them. I do like the idea of a gentle cleaning, minimal repair and waxing instead of full resto to the top.

Accepting the wabi-sabi of it as a feature is a great idea.

I didn't consider that, so again, thanks for the help.

Also, with that in mind, would a light cleaning of surface grime be acceptable to achieve that? I'd like to at least wipe everything down and potentially use a mild cleaner on it.

Don't do too much, but do something. It looks a bit neglected. Any value discussion aside, some cleaning, maybe oiling and waxing won't do harm. Maybe you can also reglue some loose veneer, as long as you don't make it look like it was new. 

Alfie's good at what he does, no doubt, but what I'm advocating for in this case is conservation over restoration. Original condition is what it's all about on the collector market. Let the next owner decide who will do what, if anything.

P.S. A good rubdown with naphtha or mineral spirits on a light-colored cotton or linen rag is a good, no-harm method for removing grime, old wax, and/or other accretions. Just be careful not to snag any splinters or loose veneer. I wouldn't oil it. And make sure to use hide glue to lay down any loose bits instead of Titebond or any of the myriad 'wood glues' available at the home improvement stores.

Perfect. Thanks very much. 

I used a brass scrub pad with bit of Noxon metal polish on the legs after removing them from the table top. Worked a treat and cleaned up the grime easily. The screws are soaking in white vinegar to remove grime and rust. Once the legs dry, I'll use some Renaissance Wax Polish to seal them up and they should be good to go.

The Domes of Silence are in decent condition and the rubber is cracking a bit but I like that and they still are held on quite well so I'm going to leave them as-is.

While the top was seperated, I used some mild soap and water with a microfiber cloth and wiped the top down and removed a fair amount of scuff marks and dirt. Unfortunately quite a few spots of lacquer haze are present so the finish is questionable at best. I'll try waxing it to see what that can accomplish.

I did receive the quote from Hume Modern for just the refinishing of the top and it was far too much for my budget and the quote indicated repairs would be more so that's a no-go for me. So for now, it'll stay as-is.

This was a fun little cleaning and while more may be required, I'm so stoked to have this piece in my possession.

Thanks for help.

Renaissance Wax is great stuff!

I took a heat gun and gradually removed the water stains. There was some minor discoloration from that process in spots (a bit darker than the surrounding areas) but they were small and better than the water marks at the least. 

I have Feed N' Wax coming so that'll be the protective coat of wax. Once that's applied I'll post images. I'd like to tackle the missing bit of veneer but I'm holding off on that for now. That's the only section where the veneer is lifting and it's ever so slight.

Alright, I looked at the table top this morning and as I kind of expected, the heat treatment didn't take well and spots are reforming. I think I'm going to take a cabinet scraper to it and just remove the finish as it's too far gone. I'm keeping it for now and as it is, it's value isn't substantial enough to be concerned about 'authenticity.' Furniture is meant o be used and loved and I'm going to fix it and use and love it.

I'm going to get some ash veneer to fill in the chip. Some hide glue to hold the very few spots of lift down. And then give it a new coat of finish.

Um, where did you get the idea to take a heat gun to 'water spots' or to remove old finish using a cabinet scraper for that matter? (a true he-man might have used gasoline and a blowtorch)

Did you test to determine which finish is on it even? (likely methylcellulose lacquer)

I can't tell from your photos, is it really ash veneer ? ('birch' clearly scrawled on the underside)

A lot of questions, I know, but you seem game.

I mistakenly wrote ash, lol. As far as heat, seen it many times. This finish is too far gone. I don't use stripper when refinishing. Scraping is easier and cleaner. Just my preference.

Well, I suppose you could always spray paint it black when you're done messing around with it. It is yours now after all.

Sorry to offend you, lol!