How can I paint old metal lawn chairs?

I painted some very old metal chairs (they were my grandparents chairs originally). Sand off several old coats of paint. Didn't even prime them just spray painted the chairs with Rusteloum. I gave them about 4 coats each and ended up using 1 1/2 cans of paint per chair. Did give them a light coat of a clear spray to protect the finish.

Hi Glenda, you can spray paint them! Check out some of these ideas:

https://www.hometalk.com/search/posts?filter=spray%20paint%20metal%20chairs

Spray paint! I prefer the Rustoleum Universal line with primer included in the painting formulation for metal patio furniture use. My rehab from white to the oil rubbed bronzes subtle metallic was a remarkable upgrade. Hope this helps.

I paint a lot of furniture. Once you've cleaned it well and removed any flaking paint with sand paper, use this shellac-based primer. https://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-Corporation-01008-Primer-13-Ounce/dp/B000ZYND0A/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=BIN+primer&qid=1568864868&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Let it dry for about 45 minutes, and then you can spray paint your chairs. Here's an old metal patio table I recently painted (disregard the stenciling part). It has step-by-step instructions. https://jessicawellinginteriors.com/stencils-for-painting-an-easy-patio-table-makeover/