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How to Spray Paint Fabric

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Oh yes, you read that title correctly….the answer to can you spray paint fabric is a resounding YES!  Over the past few months I had been desperately trying to figure out how to handle this situation with my patio furniture:

Dirty outdoor patio sofa cushion with white cushions and decorative pillows
outdoor couch with very dirty white cushion and pillows

While I love my World Market patio set I must have been thinking crazy when I ordered white cushions last year because they quickly went all to heck with the dirt and grime of three boys and a dog!  Replacement cushions were $$$ and my aversion to sewing left me reluctant to make my own covers.  Y’all….I even cut them open on the back so that I could take the fabric off and wash them.  It helped.  A little.  For a few days.

You might also be interested in how to paint plastic or how to paint a plastic playhouse.

Simply Spray Fabric Paint Review

Anyways, during a late night google search I happened to come across the answer I had been searching for: Spray It New’s Simply Spray Fabric Paint.  Seriously.  It is an actual spray paint for fabric.  Like, really made for fabric.  Not some mixture to concoct with fabric medium, this stuff is actually absorbed into the fabric and leaves a dyed surface-no crunchies whatsoever.  I was all over this.  I had to try it.  And so I did! (I bought my Simply Spray Fabric Spray Paint at Walmart but you can also find it on Amazon as well!)

Outdoor cushion after one coat of blue fabric spray paint

How to Use Upholstery Spray Paint

I decided the Navy Blue Upholstery Paint would be the best option for the cushion.  Maximum camouflage for future stains and it will look just dreamy next to that pool we’re putting in this month.  You should have seen me rip open that box when it arrived! I immediately went and laid out my cushion and got to spraying.  Here it is after the first coat.

I had to admit, I was feeling a little nervous at this point.  This is a large cushion and it was looking a bit streaky.  I was worried it was going to turn out looking like old 80’s denim but after {many, many} coats here is the end result!!

Outdoor patio sofa with navy blue seat cushion and beige and coral cushions

I am so tickled with how it turned out! What do you think??

Review of Outdoor Fabric Spray Paint

Okay, back to the fabric spray paint…here is my no-holds-barred low down on using the Spray It New paint:

1. Overall it is fantastic.
2. It took me a LOT of fabric spray paint to get the deep non-streaky look I wanted.  I anticipated needing two cans for the one large cushion and it took four.  I could have used a fifth and will probably end up ordering an extra can just to get the few little spots out that I can still tell aren’t even. It’s still cheaper than a new cushion!
3. I found the best way to use it was to spray continuously.  Whenever I stopped and then when I started back up I got some splatters which I then had to rub into the fabric to fix (which required stopping and starting again-eventually I learned to stop and start away from the cushion!)
4. The little trigger hurt my finger like crazy.  Small price to pay though.

A before and after collage of dirty white patio cushion then spray painted blue decorated with pillows

Got paint on your hands after your project? Learn how to remove spray paint from skin!

Fabric Spray Paint Update: 2 Years Later

 Update 2016: I no longer have these cushions but for the two years after this post the paint never faded or bled so I still highly recommend this fabric as an option to update furniture!
You might also like this fun spray paint transformation!
 two picture of plastic painted toys one scratched and the other a playhouse that is nicely painted with text reading how to paint plastic so it looks like this not that

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77 Comments

  1. You can buy an attachment for a spray can at HD or Lowes. Just clip it on the top of the can and you can spray easily. The one I have works with all cans that have the standard spray button but does not work with cans that have the low, flat button. I haven ‘t looked yet to see if there’s an attachment that works on them.

  2. Sounded exciting until I clicked on the link to see about purchasing the paint. The cost of a pack of 6 cans (this post used 5 but needed 6 on one cushion) was advertised at a sale price of $57, with an additional $7 shipping. I’ve seen new cushions in home improvement stores for far less.

  3. Hi, When you say four coats, does that include the bottom of the cushion or did you just spray the top and sides? I am trying to estimate how much I would need to spray a jacket. Thanks!

    1. No Chelsea, the paint never washed off on anything after it initially dried-we had it for 3 years and never had an issue!

  4. I live in a country that doesn’t have the luxury of Michaels or JoAnn’s, and definitely no Walmart. I have Ace Hardware and they don’t even carry most items you could find in the states. Do you think this could work with other paints as well?? Maybe another type that would not wash out and not be stiff to sit on??Anyone have any ideas??

  5. Hi Melissa—-I have a tip I hope will help your sore fingers when you spray. There’s a small plastic nozzle-attachment, kind of like a pistol handle, that snaps onto the tops of spray paint cans, you hold it like a household cleaning spray bottle & spray your paint in a smooth,continuous movement; makes it verrrrrry easy to do. I have arthritis and cannot squeeze the button on a regular spray paint can for more than a few seconds at a time, this spray attachment saves me all the way around. The best part is, it’s super cheap,less than $4 at your local DIY/home repair store. Get one and see what you think, I know it’s made a HUGE difference in my home decor rehabbing. I always buy two or three at a time because they do tend to go after about twenty or so uses.

    1. oh my goodness, I need that…I just did my first spray paint project of the year and my finger is still sore!

  6. Hi there! Love this project and need to do it with my patio furniture…I am wondering how it has held up since you did it quite a while ago! Thanks

    1. Hi Amanda, it actually has held up fine although the second year I chose to cover the cushions to change my colors on the porch, it had nothing to do with the fabric paint though!

      1. How did painting affect the “feel” of the cushion? Did it change the texture? I am curious how it feels against your skin, like sitting on it with shorts on or without a shirt. Would your skin be more likely to stick to it?

  7. That looks so great. I just love the wooden bench. I bought paint last fall to spray my old dirty outdoor patio cushions but haven’t gotten around to doing it yet.

  8. Does the paint get on you or your clothes when you sit on the fabric that has been painted? Is there a suggested cure time? Just curious. It sounds amazing, but I can just imagine having the paint come through and stain your clothes or skin. Please let us all know. Thanks!

    1. Priscilla we’ve had it for months and months and never after it was dry has any paint come off or stain anything-we have a pool too so we’ve sat on it with wet clothes. It really doesn’t bleed or stain anything we’ve seen!

  9. So cool, love it! I have never heard of that paint.
    I am going to have to try it….I have some beige furniture cushions on my screen porch just begging for some color!
    Nancy

  10. By now you probably know you can buy a cheap little gizmo that fits over the top of a spray paint can and turns it into a trigger sprayer. Home Depot has them, but you can probably find them plenty of places. No more paralyzed finger.

  11. I never knew you could spray paint fabric. I should give this a go!!

    Visiting via the Fun in Functional Hop 🙂

  12. That is a simply ingenious use of paint and color! I’m impressed and inspired …

  13. That turned out great! I never realized you could spray paint fabric 🙂 My favorite color is probably their Sage Green.

    Thanks so much for sharing this at The Fun In Functional!

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