Chair with a missing chunk

[Bert Coules]

The arm rests on my elderly but extremely comfortable desk chair seem to be made of some sort of dense rubberised plastic, if such a thing exists. One of them has a moderate-sized chunk missing, exposing the slightly spongy interior under the harder skin. What would be the best material to use to fill the gap and leave a hard-wearing surface to match as reasonably as possible the texture of the rest?

[Muddymike]

The arm rests on my elderly but extremely comfortable desk chair seem to be

Car body filler painted to match.

Mike

[michael adams]

This stuff might do the trick

I've never used it myself and don't know how expensive it is in comparison with other solutions. And presumably it won't colour match with what's already there.

I only know about it because it's featured in posts before.

michael adams

...

>

[fred]

In article , michael adams writes

That looks interesting.

If it needs a skin on top to avoid separation of the repair from the original then there are vinyl repair kits that let you mould a skin patch on top and blend it in to the surrounding surface.

Here's an example but they're not particularly cheap (not used, no affiliation):

£13.99 inc post

There are franchise outfits that do this all over so it's a recognised and durable technique but not worth getting a guy out unless, such as a bus company, you have a lot of torn seats or it's a values sofa.

[Bert Coules]

Thanks to everyone for the replies. That Sugru stuff looks intriguing, but for the amount I'd need it is pretty pricey.

Checking the area of damage again, there's actually no real requirement for it to be flexible: it's at the side of the arm rest and doesn't have to have any give at all. I might try, at least as a preliminary measure, using a conventional hard filler, perhaps even a gap-filling adhesive like Gripfill. I'm not too worried about matching the existing dark grey/matt black colour.

[Roger Mills]

If it were mine, I'd try some Shoe Goo

because I happen to have some and because I've used it to good effect on things other than shoes.

[Bert Coules]

Thanks for that. I'll take a look.

[michael adams]

Great stuff Shoe Goo*, which I first learned about on here.

As well as salvaging old "unrepairable" shoes, IME it works equally well on new shoes, providing they're first "primed" (non leather soles anyway) with something like acetone.

michael adams

• Available on eBay and Amazon among other places.

[polygonum]

I'd try to get in touch with the chair's manufacturer/distributor. You might strike lucky and get a replacement (or even a pair of replacements).

[Thomas Prufer]

Use d-i-y sugru:-)

Google for Oogoo, wot is silcone sealant (the acetic acid kind) and starch.

Use a bit of that with clingfilm to make a mold to match shape and texture from a whole bit, then use that mold with more clingfilm to shape the final bit, maybe...?

Thomas Prufer

[Brian Gaff]

Maybe, but the stuff is actually a foam which is moulded in the first place but forms a kind of skin, a bit like crust on bread. I don't think it can be repaired as the inside is quite crumbly, and its generally only the skin that holds it together, which is why when this fractures chunks tend to come off.

Brian

[newshound]

It sounds a bit like an old polyurethane foam. Shoe goo is very sticky but if the hole is "deep" you will find it shrinks to some extent as the solvent evaporates. Other flexible fillers such as silicone will probably shrink less. Rigid fillers such as car body filler won't shrink but they may not stick to the "void" very well.

[Bob Eager]

Can't answer directly, but if chunks come loose and you still have them, Gorilla Glue worked well for me.

[Roger Mills]

Yes, I should have said that you'd probably have to apply it in several layers rather than all at once.

[fred]

In article , Thomas Prufer writes

Excellent tip, thought this was quite informative:

or download pdf:

[fred]

In article , fred writes

Apologies, requires membership, but avail here:

[Thomas Prufer]

has some fillers other than starch, such as glycerine.

Nice overview.

Thomas Prufer

[Bert Coules]

Thanks again to everyone for the replies and thoughts. As an initial measure I've tried filling the gap with black silicone sealant: this has adhered very well but doesn't of course give a hardened surface. I'll see how it fares under everyday use before trying something different.