I would like to paint the seats of my patio chairs. They are made of a plastic material similar to canvas, but not very absorbent. I would also like to paint my canvas table umbrella. Any suggestions?
By Barbara from Cape Vincent, NY
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I don't think it's such a good idea to paint them. The paint is likely to peel and crack. Better to leave it alone.
There is a spray version of the plastic material called dip it (the rubberized plastic that is on the handle of some pliers, wire strippers or garden nips) and comes in various bright colors. I would buy a swatch of similar material from your local sew shop and try it for durability or coat thickness. There are other automotive grade sprays to recolor warn vinyl upholstery that may also do the trick for your chairs. For the umbrella, obviously you could remove the canvas from the frame and redye it the original color, paying attention to the guide to prevent bleeding and retain color fastness, but again, there are flexible spray paints out there nowadays that can recolor just about anything. If you don't mind a darker umbrella, you could even consider a wood stain to impregnant the fibers and regain its water repellancy. Remember you color wheel when using dissimilar colors. Yellow and blue make green, but if you get too crazy it'll end up brown. What ever you do, start clean and dry. You may want to prep the chairs with an alcohol wipe prior to coating for superior adhesion. Clean and dry for best results, and a few thin to win coats are better then one fat goopy spray. Don't get lazy. Tape the chairs off then "dust" the fabric with your choice of flexible paint by holding the can 15" +/- from the work and try to maintain a constant angle of attach (rotate the work keeping the spray can vertical and parallel to the surface for an even uniform application).
I cant see how the chairs are constructed, but could you remove the fabric and replace it with new cotton duck (canvas) fabric? I dont know of any way to paint that kind of material.
I think the color looks great just as it is! However if you are determined to do something stop in at a local paint or hardware store, perhaps bring a chair with you. Today there are various paints for all kinds of stuff. If you can paint it, why not just use a stencil? Pretty flowers, or tropical birds. Good luck to you.
Or Harley skulls and crossed pistons in greys and black. The zombie green accent is a perfect start.
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