How to Sand Chiavari Chairs

Chiavari chairs – in resin, aluminum, and wood – are huge rental turnover items that party rental companies often can’t keep in stock during the busy months. But because of how much Chiavari chairs are rented out, they tend to need more maintenance – especially around the bottom of the legs. I’m going to run through a few scenarios based on how much of the Chiavari chair needs to be sanded.

Scenario #1: You want to change the entire colour or stain of the wood Chiavari chair

The easiest, most expensive way to do this will be to get a sandblasting booth in your warehouse. This will allow you to efficiently strip the Chiavari chair of its stain or colour to repaint or stain in a new colour of your choice. Sandblaster range in price from $450.00 to $2300.00 CDN with the booth itself ranging from $2000 to $6000 CDN depending on the size and ventilation attached.

Scenario #2: You want to touch up the colour or stain on the bottom of the legs of your wood Chiavari chairs

This is a more time consuming but cheaper option that uses either wood stripper or sand paper depending on if your chair has deep scratches or just shallow, surface area scratches. You will need to figure out a stain or paint colour that matches your current chair colour. To do this, I would suggest using the underneath part of the Chiavari seat on one chair. This will allow you to not only get an exact match based on the wood used for the chair, but is also inconspicuous enough that you can use the chair again without guests or clients being the wiser. Once that is figured out, you need to strip the legs in need of maintenance or sand with a coarse sandpaper followed by a fine grit sand paper for a smooth finish. Then apply the stain or colour, wait the allotted drying time and then finish with a high gloss varnish.

Scenario # 3: You want to touch up the colour or stain on the bottom of the legs of your resin chiavari chairs

This is again a more time consuming but cheaper option that uses sand paper to remove the existing colour and scratches. Again, you will need to figure out a colour match using the underneath of a chair. For resin Chiavari chairs, we’d recommend using a spraypaint instead of a regular brush on paint. Once that is figured out you need to sand the legs with a coarse grit sand paper followed by a fine grit sand paper. Then spray the legs down with a fine spray until completely covered. Allow to dry for the allotted time and then follow up with a high gloss spray to finish.