DCW – Modern Conscience Blog

BEFORE / AFTER: Vintage Eames Knockoff DCM Panels

By Modern Conscience December 6, 2015 January 15, 2017 BEFORE / AFTER

Vintage knockoffs, not Eames, but pretty little gems worth restoring back to beautiful.

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AFTER…

BEFORE / AFTER: Trio of Red Aniline LCW’s

By Modern Conscience April 9, 2015 January 15, 2017 BEFORE / AFTER

This trio of Red Aniline Eames LCW Lounge Chairs arrived in a sad state. Brown house paint, chips, rips, drilled holes in the backrests and chunks torn out of the spine.

We did paint removal, extensive veneer work, perfect red aniline, chip repairs, and new shockmounts. Please notice the care we’ve taken to use as much of the original hardware as possible, use correct shockmounts, which accurately match the originals, and preserve the soul of each chair by ever so carefully keeping as much of the original aniline dye as possible.

This is now an impressive and valuable trio.

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AFTER…

BEFORE / AFTER: Eames LCW Restoration

By Modern Conscience January 28, 2015 January 15, 2017 BEFORE / AFTER

Another Eames plywood chair with holes drilled in the back and a messed up finish on the seat. No problem, we will make it gorgeous again.

The integrity and value of the piece is preserved.

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BEFORE / AFTER: Eames DCW Restoration

By Modern Conscience January 28, 2015 January 15, 2017 BEFORE / AFTER

This chair came to us with deep horrible rips in the veneer of the backrest, and some chewed up edges on the seat. This is a beautiful example of our perfect chip repair.

The integrity and value of the piece is preserved.

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AFTER…

BEFORE / AFTER: Mistreated Eames DCW’s Restored and Brought Back to Life

By Modern Conscience December 21, 2014 January 15, 2017 BEFORE / AFTER

There was a misguided attempt at upholstering these, some terrible repairs to the shockmounts, and an exploded leg. New veneer, finish matched, new shockmounts, and a perfect new leg. All while honoring the integrity of the chairs.

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AFTER…

HOW-TO: Repair and replace Eames shockmounts for molded plywood.

By Modern Conscience August 7, 2014 January 15, 2017 HOW-TO

These easy-to-follow instructions apply to replacing your aged shockmounts on all of the Eames molded plywood furnishings, including the DCM, LCM, DCW, LCW, CTM, and CTW.

What you’ll need:
Modern Conscience Wood Shockmount Adhesive
Modern Conscience Shockmount Adhesive Activator
Modern Conscience Shockmounts
Sandpaper (80-grit or 100-grit)
Denatured or Rubbing Alcohol
Modern Conscience Wood Finish Restoration Kit

You will find all of these parts on our website here.

1: Using sandpaper, remove all of the old epoxy.
Helpful Tip: Tape off areas around the mount where you want to protect the finish. It’s easy to accidentally drip or oversand. All of the original epoxy must be removed. A bond is only as strong as the weakest adhesive in there, so if you leave any of the old epoxy you’re providing an opportunity for failure of the bond.

Modern Conscience Wood Shockmount Repair – Step 1

2: Use the chair frame to help you determine the exact location of the new shockmounts if the mounts you’re replacing don’t have obvious factory routed areas.
Helpful Tip: Use extra long screws in the frame. This will allow you to both move and carefully position the shockmount.

Modern Conscience Wood Shockmount Repair – Step 2

3: Clean the shockmount with denatured alcohol or rubbing alcohol using a lint-free cloth.

Modern Conscience Wood Shockmount Repair – Step 3

4: Clean the prepared wood surfaces with denatured alcohol or rubbing alcohol using a lint-free cloth.

Modern Conscience Wood Shockmount Repair – Step 4

5: Apply Modern Conscience Wood Shockmount Adhesive to the shockmount.
Helpful tip: Your puddle of glue should extend to within 1/4″ (6mm) of the edge of the shockmount. You want enough glue that it will slightly press out from underneath the shockmount on the sides, leaving no air bubbles. You do not, however, want so much that adhesive flows out from under it and runs everywhere.

6: Gently place the shockmount. Hold the shockmount in place and use a few strategic drips of Modern Conscience Adhesive Activator to secure the shockmount during cure time.
Helpful Tip: Do not press hard, you will force the glue out from under the shockmount and create what is called a “starved” joint. The weight of the shockmount plus some gentle pressure is enough to allow the glue to evenly lick up around the edge of the mount.

Modern Conscience Wood Shockmount Repair – Step 6

7: Allow 48 hours for the adhesive to reach full cure strength.
Helpful Tip: After the adhesive has cured check your work. Make sure that the adhesive has a nice bead around the edge. Anywhere the edge of the shockmount is exposed is an opportunity for forces to concentrate and will ultimately lead to failure of the bond. If you find an exposed edge, or just for good measure, you can apply a final bead of adhesive around the perimeter of the shockmount, again using the activator to help control placement of the adhesive.

8: Restore the exposed sanded parts of the fiberglass with a Modern Conscience Gel Coat Restoration Kit.