Guide 2 · Step 0 · Strip, read and prepare
In short: before a single spring is sewn or a metre of fabric is cut, there is the stage that decides whether the finished piece holds its shape for twenty years or starts to fail in two: stripping and preparing the frame.
Most tutorials rush through it in two paragraphs. It is not a chore you get through to reach the interesting part. It is the interesting part, and once you know what to look for, one of the most satisfying steps of the whole process.
The tutorials
Strip and prepare tutorials
Every step on real pieces, with the kind of detail that only comes from doing this work professionally every day.
Easy trick to glue an arm junction on a cabriolet chair
An easy pro tip to glue an press the wood with webbing
Fixing and gluing back the wood
Security Tips for stripping
My magic products to make the wood new again
Read the piece
Every piece tells a story when you take it apart
The way it was built, the technique used, the decisions the original upholsterer made, and the ones that went wrong. Learning to read a piece as you strip it is one of the most valuable skills in upholstery, and no amount of theory can replace it.
How to strip properly
Work backwards
The last thing that went on is the first thing that comes off. The old fabric is a cutting template, the original tack positions mark the tension lines that worked, and the webbing, springs and hessian tell you what the seat needed. Strip fast and you lose all of that. Strip carefully and the piece practically tells you how to rebuild it.
What you find underneath
The real assessment begins
A frame that looks fine can have loose joints, cracked rails, worn rebates, or wood too dry to hold a tack. A frame that looks rough can be perfectly sound. You cannot know until you look, and then you deal with what you find, in the right order, before any new material goes on.
What this stage covers
From the first tack out to the last coat of wax
Strip safely
Technique and safety
- Stripping technique and sequencing: the right tools, the right order, removing staples cleanly without damaging the rail, and taking apart a piece that was badly reupholstered before.
- Safety during demolition: simple, non-negotiable rules for ripping chisels, tack lifters and staple removers. The injuries at this stage are entirely avoidable.
Read the frame
The original build and the joints
- Reading the original build: which technique, which materials, and the right approach to rebuild. The original build is the best guide you have.
- Assessing joints: fine, to monitor, or to repair before anything else. A loose joint under fresh upholstery only gets worse.
Repair
Gluing, clamping, woodwork
- Regluing and clamping: which adhesive for which joint, and how to clamp a curved frame without a workshop full of specialist equipment.
- Woodwork repairs: filling cracks, replacing corner blocks, consolidating split rails, and knowing when it is a job for a cabinetmaker.
Refinish the show wood
From cleaning to the final finish
- Cleaning off decades of wax, polish and grime, with products chosen for the existing finish.
- Sanding: when, how much, which grit. Over-sanding period show wood cannot be undone.
- Staining and tinting, so the result looks restored, not refinished.
- Varnish, wax or oil, and touch-ups on scratches and worn patches without refinishing the whole frame.
None of this is difficult once you know how. All of it is slow, and sometimes destructive, when you work it out for the first time on a piece you care about.
Premium Membership · Read your frame, together
Not sure what you found under the fabric? Show me
With the Premium Membership, you send me a photo or a short video of your frame on WhatsApp, and I answer you personally, as if you were at my workbench.
- Understand the original build before you throw anything away
- Know whether a joint must be reglued
- Advice on your own piece, not a generic answer
Stripping and preparing: your questions
In which order do you strip a chair?
Backwards: the last layer that went on comes off first. Remove each layer carefully, keep it intact where possible, and read it before you discard it.
Why keep the old fabric?
It is a cutting template for the new fabric, and the old tack positions show you the tension lines that worked.
Can I upholster over a loose joint?
No. A loose joint must be reglued and clamped before anything else: under fresh upholstery, it only gets worse.
Should I sand the show wood?
Only as much as needed. Over-sanding period show wood cannot be undone, and under-sanding stops the new finish from adhering.
What comes next
The frame is clean, solid and ready. Now the build begins
The Hammer Club
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A clear learning path, professional methods, and no guessing.
Step-by-step photo tutorials, many with video, on real pieces from my atelier, and with Premium, my personal answers on WhatsApp.
Written by Céline Vanier, running her own upholstery atelier by Lake Annecy for more than 15 years.
Is a technique missing? As a guest or a member, you can suggest future tutorials in the comments below. If a technique or chair style is missing, leave your request here: your idea could inspire the next tutorial.
