How to Paint a Fabric Chair

Do you have an old chair laying around with outdated upholstery? Don't get rid of it yet; give it a fabulous new look with paint! Read on in this post to learn our tips and tricks for how to get started with fabric painting.

All Country Chic Paint products used in this tutorial are available at www.countrychicpaint.com.

Step 1: Shake, Stir, and Pour Your Paint

As always with painting, start by shaking your can thoroughly, then opening it up and giving it a stir. To avoid potentially contaminating your entire can of paint, pour some off into a cup for use on your project.

Step 2: Tape the Edges

If you're painting just one area of your chair or there are accents that you wish to leave as is, use some painter's tape to protect them.

Step 3: Spray With Water

Before applying your paint, spray down the entire fabric surface with water. It doesn't need to be soaking wet, just damp. This will help the paint spread more smoothly and help to avoid that crunchy feeling once it dries.

Step 4: Apply Your First Coat

Before the water dries, begin applying your first coat of paint. Keep in mind that the tighter the weave, the less paint the will soak into the fabric. If you find that the paint is drying too stiff for your liking, there are fabric mediums on the market which you can mix in with the paint to help soften the feel.

We would advise against trying to paint a very loose weave fabric as it will require a lot of paint to get opaque coverage.

Step 5: Add a Second Coat If Needed

As you can see in the above picture, the paint will often soak into the fabric while it dries. To achieve a more opaque look, give the first coat about 1 hour to dry, then apply a second coat.

Step 6: Check Out Our Video Tutorial!

In this brand new video tutorial, we'll show you how to apply paint to fabric upholstery.Watch this video to see our company co-founder, Rosanne refinishing a chair in our limited edition color, Sunday Tea!

To see more fun tutorials like this, head on over to our website at http://www.countrychicpaint.com/tutorials

Comments

[sray-von]

Hi i see the can and your recomebtmdation for the brand. But what kind of paint bid it. What Is the paint itself. Acrylic ?
These specific canned paints are very expensive. So I logged on to find what the paint is. Hoping you do not mind.

[Country Chic Paint]

Hi there! Our paint is a clay-based paint designed specifically for furniture. You can experiment with other types of paint for sure, but we can't guarantee the results of other brands as we haven't tested them ourselves.

[Cooked Up By Ron]

what type of paint for upholstery painting

[Country Chic Paint]

Hi Ron,

We find that the Country Chic Paint All-in-One Decor Paint works beautifully!

[notconvincedgranny]

It would be less time consuming to just re-upholster; under what circumstances would paint be preferable?

[galle25]

I will be painting some of the fabric on my dining chairs as it is on the back of the chair rather than the cushion, it is much easier to paint it then to try to get the panel off without damaging the frame