Yes: Vintage dinette chairs can be reupholstered successfully. The seats of Laurie’s chair were in fine shape, but the original backs had seen better days. She found pink and gray marine-grade vinyl online and then, someone locally who reupholstered them for just a very reasonable price — including supplying and adding the upholstery tacks. 
Laurie’s dinette chair “before” reupholstering
Laurie writes:
Hi,I actually took the chairs — just the backs — to a fabric upholsteror in Rochester, N.Y. She did them for just $25 chair!!! They came out BEAUTIFUL! I ordered the material online myself and saved even more… It is marine grade vinyl and matched PERFECTLY!Sincerely,Laurie
Hey, $25 per chair sounds like a fantastic price to me. But readers, if you can’t find such a bargain — and have the moxie — I found this video from Sara at Pink of Perfection with instructions on how to get a professional look. Argh — heat is required to get the edges all smooth — so this looks a bit tricky to me. Be safe..
I also have several stories on where to buy retro style vinyl and even real Naugahyde — these are all filed in my category –>Remodeling Basics / Furniture.
LOVE LOVE LOVE! My chairs are going to need this soon, so happy to see this!
Another timely post! I have a set in the garage…any advice on how best to remove the rust from the legs?
they talk about this in the video… i may also have some tips from readers on my blog …
Here is where I would send you, to start: http://retrorenovation.com/2010/04/06/cleaners-polishes-and-porcelain-repair-for-mid-century-homes/
here is another reco from back aways: http://retrorenovation.com/2009/01/28/how-to-clean-and-polish-vintage-chrome-cabinet-pulls-table-legs-and-more/
THANK YOU! This blog is an unbelievable resource!
Thank you, MCM
From one vintage fan to another, this is just like restoring vintage vehicles. When things are chrome plated, they are, in theory, sealed. However, if you see rust on anything that is chrome, it is because the “seal” of chrome has already been penetrated. The best you can do is re-chrome or SOS pad the crud out of it and seal it with a bit of wax. Keeping it away from more water is also key. I did that to my set four years ago and have not seen a speck of rust since.
I have a few chrome dinette sets and I used crumpled up alumminum foil. It gets the rsut off and covers discoloration. Works great!
Super fine steel wool (0000 – that’s four zeros) works wonders and then you can seal it with wax – like the kind used on car chrome or bicycle chrome.
Thanks for the tip, Chrisdy!
Triple Zero steel wool! Works BEAUTIFULLY!
Yay! My two favorite blogs have finally crossed paths!
I LOVE THOSE CHAIRS!! Thank you so much for all the information!
Wow, great job on the grey and pink chairs. How fab are those? Love the video, too!
Does anyone have any tips on repairing vinyl upholstery? I have some very cool dinette chairs. One has a torn seat bottom but everything else is perfect, so I don’t want to redo them. I just want to fix the seat with something better than duct tape!
I’ve always wondered if anyone has any experience with those vinyl repair kits that you see in infomercials!
I’ve often wondered about those, too, Kersten. This person had about the experience I would expect. I may try it. Not perfect, but better than nothing when you don’t want to reupholster: http://www.digsmagazine.com/lounge/lounge_furniturefix-70schairs-vinyl4.htm
can you buy replacement backs and seats for these chairs?
Can I get a reference to the person in Rochester that did the chairs? I’ve got a job for them…
Can anyone give me advice on repairing the frames themselves? We have a georgeous dinette set, but the metal frame is breaking and they are unusable at the moment. Thanks!
Where in Rochester?
Hi,
I actually took the chairs — just the backs — to a fabric upholsteror in Rochester, N.Y. She did them for just $25 chair!!! They came out BEAUTIFUL! I ordered the material online myself and saved even more… It is marine grade vinyl and matched PERFECTLY!
Sincerely,
Laurie
Hi,
I have a dinette set from the 50′s that is in great shape, but just a little dull, I’d like to shine it up a bit. Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance..
Martha
Pam or Laurie, if either of you is still looking at this, could you get me the contact information for the upholsterer in Rochester who did the work? I have some similar chairs that I need done.
Thanks!