Have you ever wondered how to paint vinyl? A few years ago, we were at an outdoor antique market in Aberfoyle, Ontario looking at these funky metal lamps wondering if we could find space for them. As the story goes, they were originally from a psychiatric hospital. What we loved about them were the curvy lines and retro look.
However, we didn’t have space for them in our small house. But as we turned to leave, we spied a vintage steno chair that was also metal and sporting curvy lines! And I had the perfect place for it too: my future craft studio! So we bought it and stored it away until the basement was finished.
Condition
Granted, there were no tears: the beige vinyl floral-patterned seat and back was in great shape. No wear or tear is pretty rare for a retro piecel!
Although we don’t have natural light in our hallway, the vinyl was pretty drab (and busy) no matter what the lighting conditions! The metal looked like it had already been re-painted.
Once my studio was complete, I had to do something about the ugly vinyl. At first, I thought about reupholstering it. I’ve reupholstered a few chairs in my day, so it wouldn’t be beyond my skillset, but it seemed a shame to rip apart something in such great condition.
I even thought about respraying the metal a different colour. However, for some reason, I really loved the rich forest green paint. It reminds me of a European sports car with its curvy lines, like this one I found on Pinterest:
The green paint was definitely going to stay!
How to Paint Vinyl with Flexible Paint
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Instead of re-upholstering, I decided to try something new with the vinyl upholstery: paint it!
The paint has to be a product that will stand up to the challenge. Because of all the use the seat and back will get, it needs to flex; a standard paint would just crack. So I researched and found a local paint shop that carries specialty paint made for vinyl. We bought a spray can of SEM Color Coat in a colour called ‘super white’.
Hubs removed the vinyl seat and back and sprayed a few thin coats of the paint. After letting it dry, we put it back together again.
Here’s a closeup look of the before and after of the vinyl:
Providing that you can spray outdoors, a spray can is feasible. However, it’s too stinky and messy to use inside. If you prefer a low VOC option you can paint indoors, see how to chalk paint vinyl instead.
How to Paint Vinyl – Small Change, Big Impact
Sometimes you don’t have to go whole-hog on every project. A small change can make a big difference. With the busy pattern neutralized, you can really notice those beautiful curvy lines now!
Off-white paint really complements both the chair and other elements in my craft studio.
While the chair lends a vintage feel to my craft studio, it also happens to work well with my upcycled kitchen cabinets-turned desk (which you can see a peek of below). Now my desk area gets a lot of use; I can plan projects for Birdz of a Feather and film some of our YouTube videos. Because of that, it’s great to have a chair that’s both stylish and functional!
We love upcycling chairs, so check out these chair makeovers. But our niece has the knack too with her Oak Swivel Chair Makeover!
Pin How to Paint Vinyl
Want to see what else we picked up at the Aberfoyle Antique Market? Check out If it’s Spring It Must Be Antiquing Time.
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Beautiful job – you really classed that baby up!
Thanks Kristin – I think so too; I’m glad I was able to exercise some restraint with this one 🙂
Simple is often best! It looks terrific, Sara. I’m glad it found the perfect home.
Thanks Alys! There’s a big show coming up on Saturday so looks like it’s time to score another find. I wonder what we’ll bring home this time 🙂
Turned out lovely! Big difference!
Thanks Linda! The beige florals had to go; so unnatural – lol!
Wow I totally have to try spray painting a chair, what an awesome idea! I love the white and green together 🙂
Thanks Cristina! I was so relieved it worked; nothing worse than beige cracks peaking through – lol!
Thanks Christina! I wasn’t sure it would work but in this case there was nothing to lose so we went for it – lol!