Paint Your Plastic Chairs

It was such beautiful weather here this weekend and you’ll never guess what I was doing??
Yep, spray painting!! And then I did get to float in the pool when I was done and just relax a little.
We have a large backyard and there is a lot of greenery out here and that gorgeous huge Oak Tree, but I really wanted to add some color too.


This is how they started out. I found these tan Adirondack Chairs last year at a thrift store for $20 for the four. They are usually about $18-20 and you can find them in color at the beginning of the season too. They were a great price and in fairly good condition and we have been enjoying them by our pool.


I just felt they had a lot more potential ….lol and really need some color….ok a ton of color.
We have three more slightly different style chairs on the other side of the pool. I’ll paint those another day…lol.
I went to Home Depot and bought Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch 2X Ultra Cover (Paint & Primer) and it was $3.97 a can. The Yellow in the back row was a Krylon Paint I bought at Michaels for another project (and I think it was more like $6-$8 there?) and never used it. By the way I went in looking for Krylon and they didn’t have it, so I thought this should be similar and when I used it and then used the Krylon Yellow I actually loved the way the Rustoleum sprayed better. (Sorry Krylon). I just want to be honest. Now maybe that yellow can or paint wasn’t a good one, but the Rustoleum had a stronger wider spray.
The colors I used were Apple Red, Sun Yellow, Eden & Brilliant Blue.


To be very honest, I have been wanting to paint these yet was a little nervous because I wasn’t sure how they would turn out, or if I would ruin them…lol. I am so glad I did, I LOVE the way they turned out and even my hubs said “WOW, they look like new.” (He was giving me that look of “oh boy here she goes again, we’ll see how they turn out” before I started.
So I first washed them, and used a scrubber and some soap and water and the strongest setting on the hose nozel. Then I let them dry in the sun and I watered our flowers and plants.
I flipped them upside down and began spraying the bottom of the chairs first. I just took my time and sprayed about 10-12 inches from the chairs. When you first begin spraying it seems like not a lot of paint is getting on them but give it time.
I sprayed a layer and then went onto the next chair to do a layer. By the time I completed 4 chairs and went back to the first to do layer number two or three it had given it time to dry. I was also moving my sprinklers around and changed loads of laundry. I think 3 coats is probably great coverage and then many hours later I flipped them over and touched up any spot I missed or needed a little more.
I also want to mention the importance of putting a tarp down and I made the mistake of not putting a big enough one because there was still a little over spray on the concrete….and my hubs wasn’t too happy…lol.
Also when you are painting wear your casual clothes and least favorite shoes. I just noticed a little over spray on my flip flops but then I washed them and they seem fine.
Here are the green and blue chairs and this tarp was not wide enough. So I then pulled the two tarps together and that worked better.
I’m letting them really set and dry before we sit on them. I’m giving it at least 48 hours. I used about 1 1/2 cans for each chair.
I LOVE love LoVe the way they turned out. They are so nice and cheery bright for our back yard. I still have paint left over so I am going to spray a few lanterns and planters but we’ll save that for another weekend. So If you have been thinking about painting some plastic or some outdoor furniture, I say GO FOR IT. Ideas Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous day, Lisa


P.s. If you need more backyard ideas check out my posts on How I updated our backyard on a budget & How I painted $1 pots to add color too.
ConcordCottage.com with Lisa Walsh Huff Kroll
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Frequently asked questions
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3 of 4 questions
  • Cheryl Sauer Cheryl Sauer on Aug 03, 2016
    Is there a finish spray that can be used on them to prevent them so the paint doesn't come off?
  • Susan McKnight-Balus Susan McKnight-Balus on Aug 02, 2017

    I did this project about 3years ago. After 1 year the paint started chipping off. Any idea/ideas on how to redo them and make sure this doesn't happen again?

  • Terri Potter Terri Potter on Apr 28, 2019

    My child stuck stickers all over the back of my plastic chairs. What would you suggest to get the sticky off without damaging the plastic?

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  • Aprile Aprile on Feb 02, 2019

    they look really nice; I always spray paint my outdoor plastic chairs - one word of caution though - wear a mask when spray painting; breathing spray paint can really damage your lungs. The best ones to use have aerators in them - you can purchase them at Home Depot or Lowes. Better safe than sorry, especially if you are a spray paint demon like me! ha ha

  • Kim Kim on Sep 11, 2019

    Terri.. I use mayonnaise . I put it on my car tinted window and let it sit for 30 mins or so while the sun is on it and it came off with my problem . No glue was left on it .

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