[Fred Hargis]

My suggestion would be that the Arm R Seal isn't needed for what you want to do. I would clean the chairs thoroughly to remove any contaminants, like furniture polish. This would be with a good strong cleaner like TSP, followed by a wipe down with mineral spirits. Then prime them with Zinnser BIN, a shellac based white primer that will insure adhesion even if you missed a few spots during the cleaning. Sand that as needed to smooth it out, then paint with a good quality oil based enamel (my preference) or an equally good acrylic enamel (sometimes labeled as acrylic latex). When most people say latex, they are referring to wall paint, avoid using that at all costs. Just the paint will be as durable as anything else you try top coat it with. Putting a varnish or such on it will also cause yellowing over time, that;s likely to be quite unattractive.

 

[Fred Hargis]

BIN will need no etching, shellac adheres to almost anything hence it's usefulness in sealing in contaminants. In turn, anything you apply to the BIN will stick to it, so the only sanding needed is to smooth out dust nibs or other roughness. The TSP I suggested is only to cut any grease or other bad actors out of the picture, you could get buy with a good grease cutting dish detergent (Dawn) and then use the MS to eliminate any furniture polish (silicon).