Hans Wegner CH-30 restoration  

Looks to me like somebody put something thick on there, like poly perhaps. I would skip the Murphy's and go straight to chemical strip, but that's me. The inlays and frame are Oak, the backrest is Teak. I would carefully remove the inlays and take the backrest off, if I were doing it... take it all apart, strip, and then put it all back together. You may be able to preserve the inlays, but hard to tell from the pictures.

Yeah, looks more like a tinted poly or varnish to me, not just stain. The little bumps in the finish (dust bits) and the high gloss finish are the clues. I'd start with a good quality methylene chloride stripper.

Are those tack & staple holes in the backrest, too?

Thanks for your comments and suggestions!

So the frame is oak, that's good to know.

Is there a favorite stripper you recommend (I have used Citristrip in the past, but I guess with a varnish might as well go full on methylene chloride)

I am uploading some more images here. The first shows the worse of the two back rest inlays - unfortunately it is likely beyond salvageable... If I get them out as complete as possible, maybe they can help to trace the outlines of replacement pieces. It also shows the tack and staple holes in the back rest - possibly some attempt at a back rest upholstery? That would explain why that side isn't varnished.

The second shows the back leg joint. Possibly a previous repair. It's completely sturdy and doesn't move at all; the gap is about 2-3 mm. My brain tells me I should probably take proper care of that, too, although my gut is reluctant to add yet another item to the list...especially one that affects the very 'bones' of the chair.

Finally the Carl Hansen mark - not really of importance, except for my own motivation...

I think the frame is beech actually.

And according to an old Carl Hansen pricelist I have it was indeed available in Beech/Teak. That was the cheapest option.

I usually get one of the more expensive brands of meth stripper. I've tried cheaping out a few times and mostly i have regretted it because the cheap stuff was thinner, evaporated faster, and/or just didn't take off as much stuff as quickly as did the $$$ brand.

I used to get Zip-Strip paste remover but i don't know if that's around anymore. Red Devil was the cheap brand then. I just got a gallon of Klean-Strip but haven't used it yet.

I don't care much for Citrus-strip. It seemed to work fine on some finishes but not on others. I don't remember the details at this point, only that I didn't think it was worth it.

Note to self: don't look at pictures on phone.

Thanks, Leif, for catching the beech - that was absolutely not on my radar.

What would the original finish have been on these? (According to Carl Hansen

i don

you might be interested in this thread:

https://www.designaddict.com/forum/Repair/Hans-Wegner-CH30-Restoration-Th...

some items to note:

1) the leg/rail joints are interlocking mortise and tenon. You'll need to remove the seat and backrest to dismantle any frame members for re-gluing.

2) minimal chance that you'll be able to remove any plugs and be able to reinstall in a manner that looks nice. CHS actually puts a thicker piece of wood in and routers it down to be flush with the adjacent wood surface. Here is a video of how it's done on the CH28: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrgW-AvpnzQ

3) it's a nice chair and worth the effort to restore, but it won't be a simple task.

Yep, I wanted to post beech, but unsurprisingly Leif was one step ahead.

Reminds me of all those 'rosewood' stained beech legs you see in lower-end Danish design with that dark red finish smothered all over it.

If I had them and the time, inclination or ability I would soap the beech parts! Accentuate the lightness of the beech. It looks to me as if the backrest is oak, but can't tell if the insets are something else or beech, and I can't tell what that something else is. Either way, I would not soap the backrest too, that just needs a nice oil.

That's just me being adventurous though, I don't suppose soap is faithful to the original finish. Just far more flattering on this timber than whatever abomination that finish is.

The backrest is teak veneer. The cross inlays are beech. On this chair at least.

Thanks for the great discussion, everyone!

That red paint/varnish/whatever is indeed a shame - will be interesting to see what

The rear leg joints were not loose, so I do not attempt to take those apart. And after realizing that I would have had to sacrifice all of the original oak plugs for the seat to remove the screws, I did not take apart any other front leg joints either.

That would be one of the reasons why I requested plenty of photos to be posted when you take apart yours 🙂