There are so many great up-cycling and refurbishing ideas to recycle your old household items and make them brand new. How to spray paint metal chairs is one of them and one you can DIY super easy! I have a few metal chairs that I am painting to bring them back to life. Here is how it is done.
How To Spray Paint Metal Chairs
1. Use a wire brush to get any rust spots off. It shouldn’t be too difficult, depending on how terribly rusted they are. Image from DIY Network.
2. Sand the surface smooth. This is important if you want a nice smooth finish. Image from Design Decor.
3. Clean the surface using water. Let it dry before continuing.
3. Use a primer to prime the surface. Rustoleum has a Metal primer that is supposed to protect from rust and prime at the same time. It is called Clean Metal Primer Spray and it is only 3.98-ish.
There is also a Rusty Metal Primer Spray that is for spraying rusted metal. This is supposed to bond to the rust, so if you cannot get it all off, this would be a good way to go. Be sure to put a drop cloth below the chair to catch the paint. Let the primer dry for 12-24 hours before applying the next coat.
4. Apply the paint. It is important to apply this paint lightly, in multiple coats if you need to. If you apply the paint heavily, you will deal with drips and runs. Allow the chair to dry for 1-2 hours between coats. After the last coat, let it dry 24 hours. Image from Delineate your Dwelling.
5. Apply a top coat. I always apply a top coat of clear lacquer to make the paint strong. I use lacquer on most projects, and spray lacquer (you can choose the sheen) for metal chairs. This is so much fun to transform your regular chairs from worn out to brand new! Image from DIY Network.
This same method can be used on all kinds of things around your house or yard. I am currently doing a few chairs for outside and I am pretty excited about it. I will post picts of the project soon!
I have a comment for step 3. Please do not use water to clean bare metal. You can use forced air to clean the dust or a tack cloth. The introduction of water will start the rust process again.
Thanks for this post. I’m currently looking for old metal chairs that I can paint for my upcoming patio project. I’ll be saving this post to my favorites. 🙂
I am painting my patio chairs this weekend. I can’t wait. Good luck on your project! I would love to see or feature your project when you get it done. Email me pictures if you are interested:)
I’m working on an antique Jungle Gym this weekend so glad to come across this information.
Please be mindful of painting old things. Painted items predating the early 1980’s likely contain lead which is a serious toxin. Items from China more than few years old may contain lead and many items from Mexico still do. Paint away! Just protect yourself, keep kids away and thoroughly clean up. Happy crafting. 🙂
What kind of paint do you use? I am so glad I came across this, I love dyi projects and have 3 of these chairs out back that I will be painting soon! Thanks
So happy I came across this, I have an old card table that I saved from my parents garage. It is super sturdy but the legs have surface rust and the top is very dated (think red vinyl with gold studs) . I knew how to do this but I am teaching my Girl Scouts how to reuse older items and you broke this down wonderfully. Now we just need to find the perfect material for the cover so we can get this started.
I love this style of chairs. These chairs remind me of summers at my grandparents. A better option is for a longer lasting finish is to have your chairs powder coated. The chairs should be sand blasted which provides a better cleanning than sanding. The power coating shot can offer youa wide range of colors and even beautiful texture options. The power coating is actually baked on. Your chairs will look like new.
I bought 2 chairs and a glider just like the ones you have pictured to redo for my front porch. I began sanding and de-rusting them last fall. These are the exact steps I was told to do when getting them ready to paint. I am anxious to get them finished and have them sitting on my porch with a beautiful flower or beach scene painted on them.
I have 5 of these metal chairs. We wiped them down with a tack cloth or if we felt lazy that day we use forced air. Make sure the temp is below 90 so the paint doesn’t dry to fast. We used auto primer – found in the automotive section at Wal-Mart, to prime our chairs. We’ve used this process on all things we transform. Definately have fun with the colors.
What color would be prettiest..? I like Lisas idea to paint a scene on them……. I am kind of artistic ……what color would be best for background if I do a floral? Thx.
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