Email Questions - CustomerService@sfpatiofurniture.com
In today's world commerce, regrettably, things are manufactured to be disposable. Think back to your old school washer and dryer, fridge, or freezer - likely lasted 30 to 40 + years. Today, these products are designed for a maximum life of about 6 to 7 years - and yes - they want you to run out and buy another one from them. Regrettably, things these days are deigned with being dispoable in plan. Even most of today's casual furniture is designed with the same disposable mindset. You likely already acknowledge that this is NOT the case with your Samsonite Steel Frame Furniture. We often see customers with furniture up to 45+ years of age still getting new replacement sling seating. It was designed to give an indefinite period of time with minimal maintenance. We also understand that nothing in this world can last forever and so when little issues do arise with your Samsonite Furniture you can take steps to prolong the life and look of your product.
Treat your Samsonite Furniture as you would your vehicle. You need to clean and wax the frames at least once every year, preferably in the spring of the year. It is preferred that you DO NOT use H2O to perfom this task. You do not disassemble anything to clean and wax your frames. You may use any standard cleaner such as 409 or Fantastic. Then wax with Megurie's Quick Wax (See HERE). If your frames are soiled from many years of not doing the above, purchase some Turtle Wax Automotive Chrome Polish (See HERE). After cleaning, apply this polish and buff off prior to your waxing step. The Chrome Polish has pumice particles that will work to lift embedded soil from the frame of your furniture. Note that elbow grease is needed in this step.
My frames just need a good ole-fashion cleaning - how is best ?
Let’s talk about cleaning those frames. First thing - DO NOT use H2O ! DO NOT use WATER ! H2O can get inside your frames leading to premature corrosion in addition to making installation a bit messy on your new slings. If you have already done this, the world has not come to an end just yet. Just know going forward that you do not need water. Yes, we understand the largest component of most any cleaner is in fact H2O. However the water in cleaner is not likely to allow copius amounts enter into the frame manufacture weep holes or installation holes. Suggest using a cleaner such as 409 or Fantastic and a small clean towel. After cleaning, best advised to polish the frames with Turtle Wax Automotive Chrome Polish (See it HERE). This polish has a light grade pumice which can lift embedded dirt from solid substrates. For your Bucket Frame - DITTO - clean with 409 or Fantastic Cleaner. Then suggest you spray wax the frames with Meguire's Quick Wax (See HERE). This wax will do an excellent job of protecting the frames from UV light (the one thing that slowly destroys all things, including us), and making that water bead like a champ.
I have corrosion on my frames - what to do ?
If you have rust spots or corrosion , do not fret. Again, treat this furniture as you would your vehicle. A lot of times, the areas around the foot glides / hardware points that are closer to sources of moisture or that may be points (pieces close together) that might hold moisture for longer periods of time may see a higher incident of corrosion. This is normal wear and can be fixed. You may touch up the spots and remove the corrosion. For small sporadic areas on the frame, you may use sandpaper or a sander thereby cleaning the corrosion to the steel substrate. You may desire to lightly coat with a primer, but this is generally not necessary. Using Krylon Fusion Spray Paint or Rustoleum Universal Spray Paint in the flavor that most closely matches your finish, lightly spray the frame and let dry. It may be best to use a model-style paint brush to dab the paint onto small areas that are deeply pitted or use an epoxy material for repair that is thicker to fill deeper areas of concern. The Epoxy material is closely kin to the original PVC Coating that is on your frame. Spray large swath areas. This may not be utopia, but it can look very good once finished and the main idea here is to protect the integrity of the steel substrate so that you continue to enjoy this product for many years to come. You may desire to manually refinish the entire frame (not bucket portion) with the same method and that is fine. The above mentioned paints will work satisfactorily or ask a professional at a paint center for their opinion on the best application.
What if my frames have large areas of widespread corrosion or what if I want to change the color of my finish altogether ?
You may manually handle the task as above - just on a larger scale OR you may have the finish professionally redone as in a sand-blasting process. Information concerning the original finish: The finish is NOT a PC or powder coated finish. It is PVC or poly vinyl chloride and it is 20X thicker than a standard PC finish. This was not a painting process but was a heat / dip / curing process that chemically bonded the PVC to the steel frame. And you wondered how they could have lasted so long.....there you go. The frames will need to be sand-blasted and then powder coated. Frames that have undergone this procedure can look showroom new in most cases. Please note that (IF YOU HAVE SWIVEL ROCKER CHAIRS) you do not want to use heat to remove the PVC finish off of the frames. Heat can and will destroy the integrity of the steel on the spring mechanism and render them non-functional. There is a critical temperature of 400 degrees to 500 degrees F that damages the coils and you do not want to be close to risking that because there is NO fixing that result. If dining / leisure chairs, heat should not be an issue. Also note that it is best advised not to refinish / repaint the bucket frame of the furniture. The bucket frame is the portion of the frame that the sling actually fits over. Finishing or painting this frame area will increase the difficulty of sling installation. It is not the end of the world if you have already repainted this portion, just may take a little more fortitude to install.
What if I have areas that hold threaded screws that are rusted out or weld areas that are broken ?
First things first - let's not cause any potential physical hazard. Remember earlier we mentioned that nothing in this life last forever ? There will come a point in the life of this furniture - yes, even our famed Samsonite Furniture - some after 50 years - that the furniture will likely need to be discarded. But up to that point, let us fix things if it is reasonable to do so. For areas that are rusted beyond threads being able to bite and hold - if reasonable, Bondo, Fiberglass Resins, etc. and other automotive products can extend the function of steel products when molded to the necessary need and threaded if necessary.. For broken welds, Heliarc welding may solve the problem. Again, this gets into an area of function and reasonableness and should be considered on a case by case basis.
We are available during our listed business customer service hours to explain any procedure. Our associates are quite sharp if we do say so ourselves - well.... most of them. Hey, we gotta have some fun !
Questions ? Email us: CustomerService@sfpatiofurniture.com
Samsonite Furniture and Samsonite Patio Furniture are registered trademarks of the Samsonite Corporation. All credit is given to Samsonite Corporation for all drawings, images, and training that made Samsonite Patio Furniture the Premier Furniture Line in the World for over 50 years.