Kartell Ghost Chair Glide Replacement

 I have 2 pairs of Kartell Ghost Chairs. One problem with the Kartell chair is the materials that was used for the glides. The rubber material disintegrated slowly in this humid weather. I changed it to felt glides, which I blogged about it here. 

But after usage, the glides turned dirty and began to collect dirt and hair. It was not what I had expected. I decided to replace it again with, I hope, a much effective solution.

These are silicone leg protectors, with the dimension of 25x25cm that is the closest to the dimension of the Ghost chair legs.

Wrapped.

Unwrapped next to the dirty glides.

The glides that I replaced sometime back was very dirty. It is felt so it traps dirt. See below.

Arrgh....dirty!

Another view of the felt glide.

I removed the felt glide. Inside the leg, is part of the original rubber glide. It has slowly disintegrated and perished in this weather. You can tell as it has turned a dirty yellow colour.

The felt glide removed. 

The original Kartell glide, removed.

Both original and felt glides removed.

With the inside legs cleaned, it was just a matter of slipping the silicone over the leg. It was a tight fit but in this humid weather, it would expand and bind into shape.

A snug fit.

Fits in nicely.

Another view

Fits in nicely.

Being a colourless, it fits in nicely with the Bougie Ghost chair.

Finished. 

Kartell Bourgie Lamp Dimmer Switch Replacement

I have a pair of Kartell Bourgie Lamps which I blogged about here.  The old Bourgie lamp has a very bad dimmer switch. It does not last long, which I also blogged about here. 

Thankfully, Kartell has a replacement dimmer switch is so much better than the original one. It is not cheap though but it is definitely worth the change.

I bought 2 replacement dimmer switch.

The dimmer switch with instructions.

The original dimmer switch on the left. The problem with it
was the roller was very flimsy. The new switch is a slider. 

Another view.

The back view. Its quite cool that it has PC board.

Instructions with no words.

Need to be careful in removing the original wire.

On the left of the switch, it is indicated L for Live and N for
Neutral. So the wire that is removed from L, I have labeled
with Red tape, as can be seen on the bottom left hand corner.

On the other side of the switch, take note of the N - Neutral
wire.

The broken switch that needs to be replaced,
The Red labeled wire is the Live wire.

The tools that I used for this project.

The wires properly labeled.

Using the spudger to lift up the slider switch.

Once the slider is taken off, the 2 screws
underneath needs to be removed.

With the cover removed.

With the white wire holder removed. You
can see a small N letter on the bottom
screw.

So the blue wire goes to Neutral.

With both ends connected.

With the back screwed back and the slider in its place.

Thankfully, it worked when turned on.

Kartell Louis Ghost Chair Replacement Rubber Glides

I have four of the Louis Ghost chair in clear polycarbonate, used it as dining chairs. The wife and I choose clear so that it gives an illusion of space, that was what the guy at the store said.

The chair uses a rubber/silicon stopper as glides on the its's legs. As expected in this harsh humid weather, the rubber glide began to perish. Bits and pieces started to fall out from the original rubber glide. It is quite unfortunate that Kartell would use such material on its chair. Maybe it did not consider how heat and humidity would affect its material. Luckily, the whole polycarbonate material is still in good condition.

Searching online, I could not find any resources on getting replacements. I have read about owners placing socks over the crumbing rubber glides. But it is very ugly. The design of the chair is very nice but you do not want to mar its design by putting 2 pairs of socks over the chair's legs.

The rubber glide has disintegrated slowly, exposing the clear
polycarbonate around the edge. 

I bought the Steve and Leif Felt Sliders from the local DIY store to see if it is a suitable replacement for the chairs. For me, felt is much better than rubber as it slides with no resistance. It has an adhesive at the back, which means I can remove and easily replace it.

Felt sliders.

The ones that I bought was a diameter of 38mm.

There were a lot of trial and error in getting the right dimension of the leg end. But I find the following to be the easiest.

I would need to remove the old rubber glides. I cut off the protruding pieces with a sharp penknife, making sure it is flush with the polycarbonate edges. However, I leave the main part within the leg. I did not remove this part so that it does not become hollow inside the chair.

Removing the edges with a sharp penknife.
Making sure it is flush with the edges.

After I have removed any stray strands and cleaned it, I made an imprint of the leg's end. I used a masking tape.

Using a masking tape to make an imprint of the dimension of the leg's end.

Removing the masking tape, I cut the edges and the excess.

As you can see, the chair's leg is not a square but a trapezoid. Making
an imprint gives you a better image of it.

Next, I will place the masking tape over the felt adhesive side.

With the masking tape over the felt.

Cut off the excess edges.

Edges are cut off with a sharp penknife.

With the felt slider cut into shape, I remove the adhesive paper and stick it to the edge.

Making sure that the tapered sides are correct.

I have replaced all 4 rubber glides with the felt ones for this particular chair. It is much quieter and it slides in and out faster.

The most important part is, I do not need to buy actual replacements from Kartell. The colour of the felt does not affect the overall nature of the clear polycarbonate Kartell chair.


Rad about my other Kartell posts:
Kartell Bourgie Lamp
Kartell Optic Container

Pedrali Pasha Armchair Furniture

The wife and I bought a pre-owned Pedrali Pasha chair on 1st March 2015 for SGD220. We did not know the previous owner was a local celebrity until we turned up to pick up the chair.

The wife had her eye on the Pasha since we saw it at Lifestorey a few years ago. At that time, it was selling the chair, the cushion and the ottoman. The chair itself was selling at SGD1165. It was too expensive.

Pedrali is an Italian furniture company, established since 1963 that produces contemporary furniture made of plastic, metal, wood  as well as upholstered ones.

It produces a wide range of chairs, tables, complements and lamps exclusively manufactured in Italy inside Pedrali production sites through a design process which combines tradition and innovation, engineering excellence and creative brilliance.

The Pasha chair is made in polycarbonate, glossy finish. Available in white, black, fume (grey) and transparent.

The dimensions are as follows:
Height: 980mm, Length: 750mm, Breadth: 710mm

Designers:
Claudio Dondoli and Marco Pocci

From the Lifestorey website:
The “Archivolto” studio has been working with Pedrali for many years; the “Ice” chair, the “Gliss” chair and the “Smart” chair have had great success. Claudio Dondoli and Marco Pocci are originally from Colle d’Elsa, near Siena, where the “Archirivolto” studio still has its head office today. Dondoli and Pocci met in Florence at the university faculty of architecture where they were part of the same team. In 1983 they opened an industrial planning and architecture studio, which from 1989 has been working exclusively on industrial design. For the “Archirivolto” studio a project starts from the direct relationship with the customer, a good product has to have an affordable price. The search for the most innovative materials and processes allows for the best results to be achieved in terms of a quality-price ratio; this is one of the main activities of the studio.

The Pasha, at the balcony corner. Adorned with the Kulla lamp and Eames
elephant.

Even though it is pre-owned, it still retain a very high glossy finished

Side View

Back view. Even though it is pre-owned, it still retain a very high
glossy finished

In case of doubt.

Check out my other related blog articles:

Kartell Bourgie Lamp
Kartell Optic Container
Eames Elephant

Kartell Bourgie Lamp - Dimmer Switch Repair

I have 2 Kartell Bourgie Table Lamps, both in crystal. For a Kartell designer product, I have to say that the dimmer switch of these table lamps are quite flimsy. I broke the spindle of the first Bourgie lamp dimmer switch. It costs GBP24.24 to replace a similar original Kartell dimmer switch. Or I can use a butt ugly generic dimmer control below.

The generic dimmer switch in white PVC plastic.

There is another way but it is a temporary solution, using the existing dimmer switch, but without the broken dimmer spindle.

Here is how you do it.

Please make sure that the lamp is unplug from the main wall socket.

Below the dimmer switch, there is a screw. Unscrew it

Remove the screw and the top plastic cover of the dimmer switch. The picture 

above shows the clear plastic spindle. 

You will notice that the spindle wheel is next to the black circular device. You
turn the clear spindle, which turns the black circular device, which controls
the intensity of the lamp. Most probably, the connector between clear spindle
and the black circular device is broken. 

Gently lift up the clear spindle.

Another view.

On the other side of the black circular device, there are remnants

of the clear spindle axle connector left behind. This clear small spindle
 connector can be turned, even by using your fingers. Clockwise to increase
 intensity and counter-clockwise to decrease it.

The clear small spindle axle is the key to this problem. Give a good guestimate and turn it clockwise. You can turn it all the way for maximum intensity of the Bourgie lamp or maybe halfway. 

Leave out the spindle outside. Put back the top casing and screw it back on.

Connect it back to the wall socket. Turn it on. The lamp should be
immediately lighten up.

As mentioned earlier on, this is a temporary solution for the Bourgie Lamp. The intensity of lamp cannot be adjusted from the dimmer switch. It has to be opened up and adjusted from the black circular device I mentioned above. Otherwise, I find the dimmer switch is still in working condition, without the dimmer spindle itself. I do not want to replace it with a new dimmer switch until the existing one is truly faulty.

Eventually, my second Kartell Bourgie Lamp dimmer switch had its spindle broken. But this time, I was careful and I know what to expect. I did not aggravate the spindle. So instead, I opened up the clear dimmer switch and glued the clear spindle back to its axle. So the 2nd Bourgie Lamp is saved.

My advise, to Kartell Bourgie Lamp owners, is to be extra gentle with the dimmer switch. The connector axle between the clear spindle and the black circular device is very thin. It can be easily broken.

I hope my posting help.

8th Sept 2018 Update: Have a look at my other posting where I replaced with another Kartell Dimmer Switch.