I would sand blast them. You might find someone in the yellow pages to do so for you. Or, you might get acceptable results with a wire brush mounted in a drill. It depends on how bad the rust is, and how many coats of paint you've got to deal with. Some jasco or similar paint stripper may also help. Be careful, though, depending on the age there may be lead based paint on them. You don't want to breath that dust.

They're really not that bad. I have tolix style counter stools at my kitchen island and the tolix style chairs are really popular at restaurants around here. They're sturdy and cheap and available in cheerful colors. You can argue that they don't belong in a more formal setting, like the picture above, but they are nothing like those plastic garden chairs, which are flimsy and shaky when you sit in them. They have a nice solid feel when you sit. I thought long and hard about getting tolix chairs for my dining room before I settled on vintage Breuer chairs. The sheepskin are there mostly for the looks. Sheepskins are one of the things that were in just about every home decor blog at one point. In reality, they'd probably slip around all the time. If you want a cushion, they make some that fasten to the chair through the hole in the seat. I bought some for my counter stools. Laurie- is every chair that is more comfy with some kind of cushion pointless and nonfunctional? tolix cushion

How much assembly is required???

If you want to lay in the chair for long periods of time, there is nothing like the thick pads! I love modern, but also want REALLY inviting chairs to sit in, so will give up the look a little and just get with cushions. Yes, sling easy to hose down and dries fast. The latest is the built in pads- that is the latest look by far. Brown Jordan expensive but if you can do it and would love them- go for it. Otherwise, Costco has tons. I also am insisting on having arm rests for comfort! No wicker- too many spider webs and spiders!! Best of luck. Oh I would avoid curve and circular arm rests and design and go for more contemporary clean straighter lines for a crisp non dated look. Take some pictures when you're done!